Guardians of Magic
by Shire Folk
Summary: When dark creatures begin appearing in Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna summon the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot. Before the six ponies can arrive, though, four strange ponies are expelled from a portal that appears in the throne room, and they explain that Equestria is not the only place at risk from these creatures.
1. Prologue, Creatures in the Night

…_I don't even know where this came from. To all of my AoD fans, this is almost completely unrelated to it at all and I'm not even sure what head canon I'm using. All I know is that I've got one OC from AoD showing up, and that I'm ignoring Dream Drop Distance, 358/2 Days, Coded, and probably a bit of BBS._

_To everypony else, take this as having jumped right into the middle of one of your standard post-KH2, pre-Before-The-Other-Games-Came-Out Action/Adventure/Romance fics featuring the ponies sharing the spotlight. I honestly don't know when updates are going to be because I still have a lot of work on **The Annals of Darkness** to do._

_Anyway…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or My Little Pony; those things are owned by Square-Enix, Disney, and Hasbro. This is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making any sort of profit from this._

_Note: "-G-M-" stands for scene break._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

**Prologue: Creatures in the Night**

_The moon is beautiful tonight._

Such were the thoughts of Starshine, the cobalt blue unicorn with an iridescent mane of silver standing underneath a poplar tree in the Canterlot gardens. The night sky was clear, allowing the stallion to gaze up at the moon and stars with his sapphire eyes in contented awe. A warm summer wind whistled through the leaves above him, bringing with it the scents of honeysuckle and petunias. Starshine sighed in the breeze, the air rippling against his coat and cutie mark of a bright, golden star.

An owl hooted from somewhere else in the gardens, and Starshine dropped his gaze from Princess Luna's full moon to the ground. He pawed at it with a hoof, slightly nervous. Moondancer was running late; perhaps something had happened to her? A quick glance from where he stood underneath the tree let him see that he wasn't the only pony in the gardens this night. In deep shadows that blanketed a bench he could make out the forms of two others, and from their proximity he was sure that their noses were nuzzling against one another. Just thinking about it made him think of the white unicorn.

"Starshine?"

The stallion smiled at the whisper and turned his head and neck in its direction. Slowly walking towards him was the beauty he'd been waiting for. Moondancer's brilliant red mane with a purple highlight running through it was veiled slightly by the lack of light, but that which the pale moon did cast on her and her marshmallow white coat only enchanted him further.

Seeing his smile, the mare raced up to him and rubbed her neck affectionately against his. "I'm sorry I'm late," she apologized, "but I lost track of time practicing the transformation spell Professor Hoofer set for us."

Starshine chuckled and wrapped one foreleg against her withers. By Celestia she smelled nice tonight. "It's okay. I'm just glad that you came." Moondancer pulled back and nodded her head, smiling shyly at her coltfriend. He took one step forward, a smile now etched into his face as she joined him for a midnight stroll through the garden.

-G-M-

Watching from a castle balcony overlooking the gardens was another pony, this one a mare with both wings and a horn; an alicorn. Her mane and tail were a mantle of the night sky; dark blue with the white pinpricks of stars winking through it, and they constantly fluttered as if caught in a solar wind. A black tiara with three points rested on her head, and in front of her chest hung a peytral of black leather with a white crescent moon on its centre. On her haunches the pony's own cutie mark, that of a white crescent moon over an inky black splotch to resemble the night, was clearly visible against her midnight-blue coat.

Princess Luna smiled gently down at those ponies she could see in the gardens. The Princess of the Night was a romantic at heart, though she would not admit it, and was glad that even after one thousand years some things never changed between ponies. Her beautiful night that most ponies slept right through still had that calm, mysterious charm that led to events occurring like the ones happening right now. There was love in the air tonight, only accentuated by the beauty of the night that she'd brought. Perhaps she could make it a little more breathtaking.

Thinking of that, the midnight alicorn looked up to her sky. The weather teams from Cloudsdale had done well in her books by not scheduling for any showers to occur in Canterlot tonight; it gave her full view of her nightly canvas. She hummed to herself and tapped a hoof to her chin, fixing her blue eyes on a particular grouping of stars. The alicorn's horn became surrounded by a soft blue glow. Luna could feel the font of her magical energy reserves buried within her, much of it still untapped after her raising of the moon, and she accessed it again. A tiny trickle of energy left her, and the stars she was looking at brightened ever so slightly.

"Good evening, Luna," a voice said from behind her.

The midnight princess turned to peer at the newcomer. "Good evening Celly," she said, spotting her older sister, Princess Celestia, coming onto the balcony. "I was just making Virgo a tad brighter. Hm… do you think I made Polaris too bright tonight? It's dwarfing a few of the other stars around it."

The other princess chuckled, her hoofsteps sounding lightly on the marble beneath them. Princess Celestia gazed skyward, the taller white alicorn looking as regal at night as she did during the day. "I think Polaris looks lovely, Luna. Another beautiful night you've made."

"True," said the younger sibling, "and if I do dim Polaris a bit, then some lost pony who might be navigating with it might not be able to find it as easily. I just don't know. The evening star is bright enough, but the Milky Way—" She cut herself off when her older sister began to laugh.

"My dear sister, you really do try too hard," she teased. "You've brought another beautiful and perfect night."

Luna sighed. "If you say so, Celly." She glanced down into the gardens again. "I just want it to be as beautiful as I can make it for them." Celestia strode up to where her sister was lying down and peered into the gardens. She smiled warmly, and laughed.

"You really are overly-romantic, Luna," she told the midnight alicorn.

The Princess of the Night flushed. "Ce—Celestia! We are not overly-romantic. It is thou who makes baseless accusa—" She stopped again when her older sister began laughing once more, and Luna's blush increased underneath her midnight-blue coat.

"I think I'll retire for the night," said the Sun Princess. "You will wake me before it is time to raise the sun?" Luna cordially nodded her head.

"Of course we—I mean, of course I will." Celestia and Luna shared a smile, and the radiant white alicorn began to walk back inside.

"Good night, Luna."

"Good night, Celestia," replied Luna. She gave one more look to the gardens, watching Starshine and Moondancer for a few more moments, before turning her gaze back to the heavens. How else should she improve the look, maybe by making the Aurora Borealis visible? Yes, that could work, but it shouldn't be _too_ bright, or else it might detract from the rest of the sky. However, she'd never known a pony to complain about seeing an aurora before. But then the Milky Way was rather dim tonight; even up here in Canterlot she needed to strain her eyes a little to catch sight of it. Perhaps she should improve on that instead.

There were so many decisions. An artist's work is never done.

-G-M-

Moondancer was grateful for the shadows from the garden's trees as she and Starshine lay next to one another, both of them looking up into the night sky. The shadows were hiding the blush on her cheeks, almost certainly visible through her white coat. The unicorn pair had conversed with idle chatter about their respective days, but before too long they had fallen into comfortable silence and they'd set about stargazing.

She tilted her head sideways towards Starshine and nuzzled her cheek against the stallion's. Starshine nickered from deep inside his belly and accepted her affection whole-heartedly until she gave him the chance to do what he wanted, which was to place his neck over hers in a hug. Moondancer hummed in her throat and closed her indigo eyes, just happy that he was here with her in this moment. "Do you think we'll always be together like this?" she whispered.

Starshine smiled inside of their neck hug. "I'm not sure, but I certainly hope so." Moondancer sighed contentedly in response.

"Me too."

Another minute passed in blissful silence, the only sounds the crickets chirping and the hoot of a distant owl. Starshine removed his neck from Moondancer's, and laid it down flat against the grass. The lawns of the garden were grazed meticulously; it felt so wonderful to lie down on it. Scents of the flowers drifted into his nose, and the moon and stars continued to shine and twinkle down upon them. It almost felt like they were the only two ponies in Equestria, even though there were probably no less than four or five other couples in different secluded hiding spots within the same garden.

Sudden movement on the grass attracted Starshine's attention, the silver-maned unicorn frowning and raising his neck. "What is it?" Moondancer asked. Starshine shook his head.

"I'm not sure," he told her. "I thought I saw something, but I guess my eyes are getting a little tired." He smiled apologetically at her, and Moondancer smiled back and laughed a little.

"Then perhaps we'd better be getting back," she suggested. "I doubt Professors Hoofer or Beaker will be forgiving if we're late because—"

Starshine stood up suddenly, startling Moondancer into silence. She followed the other unicorn's gaze to where there was a black shadow on the ground, the shadow an inky black that looked like light had never touched it. Two bright yellow circles were at what Moondancer suspected to be the shadow's 'head', and she wondered what fireflies would be doing scuttling on the grass like that. Moondancer blinked in surprise; the shadow started moving! She looked around frantically, but couldn't see anything that could be casting that exact shape on the ground.

Moondancer stood up and remained close to Starshine, and both unicorns nodded at one another before continuing to watch the shadow wriggle around on the ground. Moondancer dismissed her idea that the yellow things were fireflies; now she was hypothesizing that they were really eyes and that this was some sort of creature she'd never heard of.

Both unicorns snorted in alarm and backed up a few hooves as the shadow came _out of the ground_ to stand in front of them, fully three-dimensional. Moondancer peered at it cautiously. The creature stood at about half their height and had a bulbous head, two curved antennae sticking out of the top of its head. It had four limbs attached to its abdomen, besides the head; two of them looked to be arms like Twilight Sparkle's baby dragon, Spike, ending in claws, while the other two appeared to be stronger legs with flat feet; it was on these two appendages that it was standing.

"Twilight Sparkle would give _anything_ to study this," Starshine said. Moondancer nodded, inclined to agree with him on that. The last time she'd seen the lavender unicorn, Twilight had declined to go to her Summer Sun Celebration Break party in favour of studying. She knew that the intelligent pony had a lot of pressure on her hooves, being Princess Celestia's protégé, but even her new friends in Ponyville probably wouldn't be able to keep the unicorn away from a discovery like this.

"Yeah," she said, "but I just know that I wouldn't." She took another step back, and the creature cocked its head at her in an inquiring gesture. Moondancer shook her head. No matter how she looked at its eyes, she couldn't see anything in them. Though, just looking at it caused her heart to quiver slightly, and she almost swore she could feel as though it was eyeing her and Starshine hungrily. "It's giving me a bad vibe."

Starshine nodded, and he began to back up as well. "Come on, Moon, let's get back to our rooms." No sooner had he finished speaking than the creature leapt towards them.

-G-M-

Luna's attention was forcibly jerked away from the night sky as a pained neigh filled the night air. Her eyes zeroed in on the location in the gardens and she stood up. At once she was flapping her wings to take her towards the sounds, panicked and angry shouts now sounding through the night like blaring trumpets. Luna was certain that she would be the first there with her swift and powerful wings, but the guards would most certainly have heard the ruckus too and would not be far behind.

She cleared a line of trees and was forced to stop and hover for a second in surprise. A pair of unicorns was below, and they were being assaulted by no less than five buggy black creatures with beady yellow eyes that the princess had never seen the like of before. Luna took another second to survey the situation below. The male unicorn was bleeding from a tear in his chest, while the female had a trickle of blood running down her flank near her cutie mark of a glittery silver moon surrounded by eight red stars.

The male unicorn took a step back, his head swiveling from one black creature to the next. Aqua light enveloped his horn as he began to cast a spell, and the same light covered one of the creatures, locking it in the unicorn's telekinetic grip. He cast his head to the side, and the creature was flung violently against a tree, where it burst apart into dark wisps. Luna and both unicorns below were surprised at what happened to it, but the princess was the first to break out of her shock.

One of the remaining four looked like it was about to pounce upon the cobalt stallion, and defiant anger rose up in Princess Luna. How dare these beings besmirch her beautiful night? How dare they put fear into carefree little ponies? She dove for the creature like a falcon, and with a shrieking whinny Luna stomped onto the ground, reared up and dropped her strong hooves onto the thing's head. The black creature burst asunder underneath her hooves, wisps of dark matter rising up around her shins. The touch sickened Luna, but she ignored it as her rage mounted.

**"How DARE doest ye appear here!"** bellowed the princess, unconsciously falling back into her Royal Canterlot Voice as she had traditionally used one thousand years ago. **"Ye foulest beasts have far overstayed thy welcome. Begone from this place, for thy doom is nigh!"**

"Princess Luna," the unicorns behind her muttered in awe. Dark clouds were forming in the clear sky above the alicorn, and lightning began to stab the sky.

Luna barely acknowledged, glaring at the creatures that had disturbed her preciously romantic night. None of them were making any sort of move to retreat, which Luna decided to interpret as a hostile act. Her horn began to glow midnight blue and her stare hardened. A beam of light shot out from her horn and struck the cloud forming above her, and a forked bolt of lightning shot out of it and struck two of the creatures in front of her, reducing them into nothingness. Luna's horn's glow persisted, and two more of the creatures she picked up with its glow and threw them into the third. The tangle of shadowy limbs and eyes she grasped with her magic, and raised it to just above chest height.

The midnight mare snorted and kicked back a hoof, lowered her head, and galloped straight towards the mass. She gored them with her glowing horn and took off with a powerful thrust of her wings. She climbed in a vengeful corkscrew into the night air above the garden, and paused only when she was three times the height of the tallest tree in the garden to throw her head down and fling the three impaled creatures from her horn. She watched with grim pleasure as they plummeted to their demise on the lawns below.

Princess Luna descended quickly to where the two unicorns were, noticing that the Canterlot Royal Guards were now arriving at the scene, a few of the Pegasi likely having seen her handiwork crashing to the ground. Even in her haste, though, she made sure to alight on the grass with dignity befitting her station. **"Captain Crimson Horn!"**

"Your Highness," answered a scarlet unicorn in the golden armour of the Royal Guard.

"**Thou must commence an entire search of the gardens and city. None of these vile obsidian mongrels are to be left alive. Curfew shouldst be established as well with all haste. No little ponies are to be seen upon our streets until we are certain that our city is free of them. Hast thou understood our wishes?"**

"Yes, Your Highness," answered the unicorn, nodding his head. "You heard the princess!" he shouted at his fellow guards. "Emerald Wing, you take Ivory Coat and Cloudmane and start checking the other areas of the gardens! Heavyweight, you and…"

Luna turned away from the guard captain as he barked out his orders. He knew best how to do his job. Instead, she settled her gaze on the two unicorns that had been out this night and run afoul of these strange beings. "We are concerned," Luna began, "thine injuries. Are—" She cleared her throat as she remembered that this was not the form of speech of the day. "My apologies to you both; old speech habits die hard. Are you hurt much?"

The male unicorn winced. "A little," he answered her, "but not too badly, I don't think, Your Highness."

"Thank you for coming to help us," said the female, bowing before the princess. Luna raised a hoof, waving off the formalities.

"Now is not the time for pleasantries," she insisted. "Come with me to the castle infirmary. You are both hurt and shall be treated."

"But Your Highness," the male started, "we have class tomorrow and—Moondancer!" He stopped with a gasp as the female winced and dropped her head a little in pain. She had sustained another injury that neither he nor Princess Luna had spotted before, just against the thigh of her left foreleg.

Princess Luna frowned slightly and her horn became shrouded with a blue glow again. Moondancer was covered in the same glow and lifted from her hooves onto Luna's back. "You shall both be excused from your classes tomorrow," she assured the mare and stallion. "I will be sure to have a long talk with Princess Celestia about this." Luna gave the clearing one last look, snorted agitatedly, and cantered back towards the castle, Starshine following her at a slightly slower pace.

Above, the moon continued to shine unconcernedly.

-G-M-

_So that's it for the prologue, and I swear I'm going to need brain bleach for this fic. It's not going to be really grimdark or anything like that, but I'm seriously going to need brain bleach. I've got to be insane to write two KH adventure fics at the same time._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	2. An Average and Abnormal Morning

_Disclaimer: I'll take "Things I Don't Own" for $400. What are Kingdom Hearts and My Little Pony? Captain Cloudhammer is also property of **Cloudhammer**._

-G-M-

**Chapter 1: **An Average and Abnormal Morning

Ponyville woke sleepily in the sun's morning rays as it always did. The light washed the town in its warm glow, reflecting brightly off the walls of the inhabitants' homes and filtering golden light through the many hay-thatched roofs. Robins, jays, chickadees, and other birds sang their songs in the dawn's light, greeting those waking ponies with their morning music.

One such pony, a young unicorn mare with a pale mulberry coat and purple mane with a pink highlight running through it, rubbed sleep from her eyes with her hooves as she sat up in her bed. She yawned loudly, stretching out her forelegs, and turned to look out the open doors to one of the balconies in her home. The sun's warming rays greeted Twilight Sparkle with a touch she always felt was semi-personal. It was Princess Celestia who raised and set the sun every morning and evening, and Twilight Sparkle always took personal pride in being the Sun Princess' hoof-chosen apprentice. Every morning it felt as if Princess Celestia were raising the sun just for her, her star pupil, even though Twilight knew that it was one of her royal duties and it was for _all_ little ponies.

Twilight threw the covers off of her bed and got onto her hooves so that she could stride out onto the balcony and soak in the sunlight. The leaves that grew from the branches of her home—a library on the inside of a hollow, yet still very much alive, tree—rustled slightly in a breeze and shone like emeralds with their dew still clinging to them. Twilight sighed and smiled, turning around again to return to the inside of the second floor loft she and Spike shared as their bedroom in the library.

The lavender unicorn laughed quietly under her breath as she looked down at Spike's sleeping form. The baby dragon was still in a deep sleep under his blankets, and Peewee, the phoenix hatchling, was snuggled up against his lilac-scaled cheek close to his rounded green spines. She considered waking up her number one assistant, but thought better of it. He and Peewee had been up late playing last night; and Spike even later scrubbing the soot off the floor when Peewee accidentally enveloped himself in fire.

"I'll let them sleep a bit longer," Twilight whispered to herself, trotting towards the stairs. She had thought that she had it bad when Spike hatched for her after she'd unleashed a strong surge of raw magic when she was just a little filly being tested to enter Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but Spike was just a baby dragon taking care of a baby phoenix! Twilight had accidentally turned her parents into potted plants in her uncontrolled burst of magic and grown Spike from hatchling straight to a hundred-hoof tall dragon! It was that event, though, that had sparked the Princess' interest in her, and being made Celestia's personal protégé as well as her cutie mark of a sparkling pink and purple star appearing on her flank was still one of her happiest memories; and she was sure that Spike would remember standing up to that gang of teenage dragons during the Great Dragon Migration in order to protect Peewee's egg for the rest of his, hopefully, very long life.

She was in the middle of making haycakes, levitating a spatula in a magenta cloud, when she heard Spike's footsteps on the floorboards above her. Peewee was chirping and Spike was talking, but Twilight couldn't quite make out the words until he called loudly through the house for her. She couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'm in the kitchen Spike," she shouted in reply, simultaneously flipping the cakes in the frying pan. Twenty seconds later the baby dragon entered the room with Peewee flying close to his shoulder. Twilight and her friend Fluttershy were still amazed by the baby phoenix. At a mere two weeks old the little bird's wings were already strong enough to let it fly. The phoenix hatchling settled itself down on a perch they'd gotten for him.

"Aw, why didn't you wake me Twilight?" Spike asked while the unicorn grabbed the haycakes with her magic. "You know that cooking is one of my chores."

Twilight giggled at the annoyed look on his face. "I know that Spike," she answered, setting the haycakes down on two plates she'd also picked up before setting them down on the table. "But you've been so busy with Peewee lately that I thought I'd let you sleep in a little. Besides, you both looked so cute that Princess Celestia would make it a crime to wake you."

"Now Twilight," Spike argued even as he filled Peewee's bowls with water and lily petals with grasshopper legs, "how am I supposed to be your number one assistant if you won't let me do my job?"

"Oh Spike," Twilight countered patiently, pulling her chair back with more magic from her glowing horn, "you're still my number one assistant, but you have more chores than just cleaning, cooking, organizing the library, and helping in my studies and research now; you have Peewee to take care of, and that's a big responsibility."

"It's okay Twilight, I can handle it." Spike ran one of his claws down Peewee's head, getting a pleased croon out of the phoenix before the magical bird dug into its breakfast.

"Even so," Twilight said kindly, "I want to give you a helping hoof whenever I can too Spike. We're family; and Owloycious too." As if hearing his name, there came a faint "_hoo_" from outside in the tree's canopy. Twilight couldn't help but giggle a little and Spike sat down at the table across from Twilight.

"But I'm still your number one assistant, right?"

"Don't worry Spike," Twilight assured him, "nopony could ever take your place there." Spike picked up a fork with a smile on his face.

"Then all is right with the world," he said, sticking the fork into a haycake.

-G-M-

Princess Celestia's hooves descended with purpose onto the lawns of the Canterlot Castle gardens, her younger sister just behind her. Luna was tired after the previous night's events, but she refused to acknowledge it and get some sleep until the two alicorns had come up with some sort of explanation for what had occurred.

"They just disappeared?" Celestia asked.

"Yes," Luna answered, watching as a white Pegasus Guard flew overhead. The Royal Guards had run into ten other creatures in the city, and had dispatched them without much difficulty, but all of the ponies who had encountered them reported that the creatures did unnerve them to some degree. "Instead of leaving a body behind or some type of substance, they just turned into wisps of smoke and faded away. I cast a detection spell in the area after I'd seen to two of the students, but they hadn't left any trace of their presence in the area that my magic could detect. Celestia, it doesn't make any sense."

Princess Celestia frowned as she continued on towards the sculpture garden. "No, it doesn't make sense, and that's what I'm afraid of." Luna looked around, recognized where they were going, and issued a slight gasp.

"You don't think?"

"I sincerely hope not, dear sister," Celestia told her anxiously. "Discord should still be locked away since the Elements of Harmony imprisoned him once again, but I'm not taking any chances. If this is somehow Discord's work, we need to make sure so that we can act accordingly."

"But what if it is?" Luna asked worriedly. "We'd imprisoned Discord for nearly three and a half thousand years before he broke out five months ago. If the seal the Elements placed on him has already weakened…Twilight Sparkle and her friends worked so hard to return harmony to Equestria."

"I know Luna," Celestia sighed, stopping and looking up at one particular marble statue on a pedestal. It was of a creature few had ever seen the like of before. A mad scientist's experiments at cross-breeding could hardly create a stranger creature, or a child's imagination for that matter. A bipedal winged animal that was a cross between pony, dragon, bat, ram, deer, and gryphon just to name a few of its odd limbs. Chaotic was the closest possible definition of the creature, and Celestia and Luna both feared it. "However, I cannot think of another explanation. If something has happened to Discord's seal, we must know and assemble the Elements of Harmony at once."

Her horn glowed with soft pink light as the Sun Princess cast a powerful detection spell. The same glow enveloped the stone Discord had been turned into, and Celestia probed every aspect of it. Tiny fluctuations appeared in the light as the princess turned her attention towards one spot and then another, or changed the definition of her detection spell and searched for different methods the spirit of chaos and disharmony could have used to circumvent the spell that kept him imprisoned. He'd been able to escape once after the Elements of Harmony had changed hooves from the princesses to Celestia's pupil and her five friends just because nearby ponies got into a heated argument; surely he'd had plenty of time to examine his prison and come up with ways to attempt to break free in his thousands of years imprisoned.

Finally, though, Celestia lowered her horn and ceased the casting of her spell. "Celly?" Luna asked cautiously. It was a sign of how close the two alicorns really were to one another when the older sibling dropped onto her knees and gave her junior a defeated look. Celestia would never appear so distraught or weak in front of anypony else.

"The seal is perfect," she said, shaking her head. "Discord is not responsible for the appearance of these creatures, and I can think of no other explanation for them to even exist."

Luna placed her muzzle against her sister's white cheek. The last time she had seen the white alicorn so emotional was when the two had reunited after the Elements had set her free from being Nightmare Moon. "Celly, I'm worried too," she said, "but I do not believe we have the time or luxury to be as lost as we are now. We may not have the answers, but we do know what we must do, don't we?"

Princess Celestia inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. She opened her eyes, her multi-hued mane flowing in a non-existent breeze as it always did. "Thank you, Luna. You're right. We may not know what these creatures are or where they come from, but they are posing a very real danger to the ponies of Equestria." She stood up and extended her wings. The larger alicorn turned her head and gave her younger sister a faint smile. "Come, Luna. We must mobilize the guard." Princess Luna nodded her head, and the two royal alicorns took off.

-G-M-

In just under an hour, the most prominent officers of the Pegasus Royal Guards and Unicorn Royal Guards (collectively forming the entirety of the corps) had assembled in the audience chamber of Canterlot Castle, giving a large table that had been brought in a noticeable berth. With them stood three unicorns who were not wearing the brightly polished golden armour of the Royal Guards. Two of them were Starshine and Moondancer, each with bandages on their bodies where they'd been scratched by the creatures the previous night, and the third was a weathered unicorn with a mauve coat and sharp green eyes. His mane was short and white, and growing from his chin hung a snowy beard, but his tail was long and swept almost to the ground; a golden stripe ran through the left side of his tail. On the unicorn's flank was his cutie mark, that of a wide, upwards-pointing golden crescent with a golden circle in the space between the two points. He was the headpony of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and the leader of the most powerful unicorn spell-users in Equestria. Some even said that he was as strong in magic as the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded or Marelin. Both students who were close to him seemed at the same time to be trying to distance themselves from the much older stallion, but it appeared as though it was mostly due to them being in awe of their headpony.

Princess Celestia nodded approvingly of Coltinster's presence. She had requested personally for him to attend, and was glad that the old pony had been able to make it. She and Luna had been unable to come up with an explanation for the creatures, but if they worked in concert with the school then Celestia was certain that they'd be able to find an answer to their problems.

Celestia began to cast a spell, her horn suddenly glowing with yellow light. The act alone attracted the attention of most of the ponies in the room, but the booming sound of the doors slamming closed and the gentle whoosh of curtains being drawn over the windows managed to gather the others' gazes to her and Luna.

"Please everypony, take a spot at the table," she said, now descending from her throne to take her place at the table's head. The Royal Guard officers and Coltinster and his two students all approached the table so that all could look equally at Celestia and Luna while also being able to observe the map of Equestria that had been placed upon the table. The Sun Princess waited a moment before withdrawing a little. "Luna, would you like to begin?"

"Certainly, Celestia," said the younger alicorn. She looked up at the ponies assembled at the table. "As many of you have heard the report from Captain Crimson Horn and your juniors, last night these two unicorns were assaulted by dark creatures in the Canterlot gardens." There was a nodding of heads and Coltinster looked at his two charges with questioning eyes, to which they both nodded quickly. "Later we discovered ten others of this same type of creature in various places within the city." Her horn glowed with midnight blue light and a burst of magic summoned a translucent image on the tabletop. Several ponies gasped as they stared at the creature with its jet black hide and piercing yellow eyes, and Coltinster eyed it curiously.

Luna waited for only a few seconds before capturing their attention again. "Currently, we have no idea what these creatures are or where they come from, but we can only assume that their intentions are hostile from their previous actions. What we do know, however, is that their bodies can become as two-dimensional as a shadow on the ground, emerge as fully three-dimensional creatures from their shadow, and that when they are defeated they simply…disappear in smoke."

Eyes shifted towards Moondancer and Starshine, and then back to the princesses. A round of muttering began, and was soon silenced as Princess Celestia spoke up. "Luna and I have both examined the area in the gardens where the creatures appeared, and the statue of Discord." Absolute silenced reined as the name of the spirit of chaos was mentioned. "We have been unable to detect any trace of the creatures' presence where they appeared, and the seal on Discord has not been tampered with or weakened in any way. Whatever we are dealing with, it is not connected to him."

Another round of muttering began, and Celestia and Luna let it continue for a minute, sharing a look with one another, before Celestia spoke up again. Quiet recommenced as she spoke. "Therefore, we must take immediate action in order to safeguard everypony from these creatures. Princess Luna and I task the Pegasus Royal Guard to form teams to bring word of these creatures to every city, town, and village in Equestria. Everypony must be warned and made aware of this threat so that they may take appropriate steps to protect themselves. Therefore, Luna will give each team a letter providing them with all details we currently know about these creatures and our recommendations on ways to prevent personal harm; the letter will also empower each team with the authority to take any reasonable measures to ensure public safety should these creatures appear in their location. Captain Cloudhammer will organize these teams. Furthermore, I ask for the Unicorn Royal Guard's full cooperation and assistance with the Pegasus Royal Guard's operations. The floor is now open for discussion on this pressing issue. Captain Cloudhammer, Captain Thunderspark, Coltinster of the School of Gifted Unicorns, please come with me; Moondancer, Starshine, you may accompany us as well."

Princess Celestia turned away from the table just as firestorm of voices erupted from around it. She tuned out the voices of each pony trying to get a word in edgewise and stopped at her sister's side. "Try to keep them civil will you?"

Luna half-smiled at her. "When is the Guard _ever_ civil behind closed doors about anything that gets them worked up?" Sighing in resignation beneath the cacophony of voices, the strongest belonging to General Arrow of the Pegasus Royal Guard and Major Bright Flare of the Unicorn Royal Guard, Celestia motioned to the ponies she'd named and walked towards a door set behind her throne. An aging white pegasus stallion followed loyally next to an ash unicorn mare. Coltinster and the two students were only a hoof or two behind.

Once the door had closed behind them, Celestia silently led the five ponies through the corridor to a small antechamber, furnished to be a lounge of sorts for the Princess when she needed to take a break from holding court during the day. She sealed the door behind them with her magic, and released a pent-up sigh she'd been keeping in. "Thank you for coming. Captain Cloudhammer, Captain Thunderspark, there is another task I have for you."

"Anything you ask, Princess," replied the aging white pegasus, immediately followed by the unicorn nodding silently. Celestia smiled at them both.

"Captain Thunderspark, I need you to assign a Unicorn Guard that will go with each of Captain Cloudhammer's pegasi teams. Luna's report is as accurate as can be given the limited contact we have had with these creatures. Unicorn magic and its versatility appear to be the most effective weapon against them at this time. I also task you to divide the remaining Unicorn Guards into teams that will scour and patrol Equestria on hoof. If your superiors are as they were when I promoted them, then they should be able to coordinate with aerial surveillance from the Pegasus Guards."

"It will be done, Princess," the ash-coloured mare answered, nodding her head again.

"In addition," continued Celestia as she turned back to the pegasus, "once your teams have been organized, Captain Cloudhammer, I would like you to assemble another team and a chariot large enough for six ponies. Bring the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the dragon Spike, here to Canterlot. Luna and I will explain the situation to them personally."

"The Elements?" asked Starshine, the student finally getting the courage to utter a syllable in the presence of the Princess.

"But why would Twilight Sparkle need to come here?" wondered Moondancer.

"Don't you see?" Captain Thunderspark asked them. "Equestria's never encountered anything like this before. Princess Celestia isn't going to take any chances."

Captain Cloudhammer nodded once more and dipped into a slight bow. "As you command." The Sun Princess nodded her head and turned towards the other unicorn in the room.

"Coltinster, what are your thoughts on all of this?"

The bearded unicorn smiled mysteriously at the princess. "I think that the appearance of these creatures signify that Equestria sits on the verge of a monumental and pivotal occurrence in its history," he said whimsically. "Think on it for a moment everypony. Creatures that have not once been seen in memory of our dear Celestia, who has lived the lifetimes of many, many ponies, are now suddenly popping up out of the shadows and vanishing just as quickly into them. There is no precedent for their like, and we have not even a body to examine in order to understand just what they are. Creatures of this kind cannot possibly be natural in occurrence; else we would have seen something like them before, and certainly if they are appearing in the middle of Canterlot itself. No my friends, what we are dealing with is something beyond the current comprehension of ponies, for it is not in the natural order of life."

"Headpony Coltinster, what do you know?" Starshine questioned, awed out of his mind.

"Know? Know! I know much more than you colt! I've lived these last fifty winters knowing more than you and learning more with each passing day. In the last sentence you spoke I've already learned something new, even, that _you_ are like those young ponies that are so impressionable and awed whenever some old ass like me makes a profound statement. What do I know indeed!" He coughed, quite tickled at the looks on Starshine, Moondancer, and the two captains' faces. Celestia quietly giggled to herself. He had said that he had lived fifty winters on several separate occasions in her presence, one eight years ago, another twenty, and even another over fifty years prior.

Coltinster continued. "Now, what I know about _these_…erm, 'Shadows', I suppose we can call them, is very little. However, what I have said is just what I have thought, as Princess Celestia asked for. I believe that these Shadows are not from Equestria, and are as unrelated to the animals of Equestria as dragons are to dragonflies."

"I agree," Princess Celestia told him. "However, as you have stated, I have lived a long life and my memory is not the clearest thing at times. I cannot recall having seen creatures like this before, but that does not mean that they have not appeared in Equestria's history before. It is possible that a pony may have come across these creatures before, in the time of Discord or while exploring on their own. My sister and I cannot be all places at once, nor can we see all that occurs in our realm. Therefore, I ask for the School of Gifted Unicorns to search the Archives for any clue we may find within to solve the riddle of these…'Shadows'."

Coltinster bowed. "As you say, Your Highness." He turned sharply towards his two students. "Well? What are you waiting for? The Princess gave a royal command. Get those hooves in motion and **move!**" Startled out of their wits, the two students cantered off, completely ignoring their sore and healing muscle tissue after the scratches the Shadows had given them. Coltinster turned back to Princess Celestia. "If you'll excuse me, Princess Celestia, I have a faculty to inform that all their classes and experiments are to be halted by your command. It's a good thing too; Hoofer was trying to propose the building of a machine that would drain ponies of their pigmentation to create rainbows. The old coot's a raving lunatic I tell you, pity that he's a genius too." Coltinster's mauve horn glowed white, and with a flash he had teleported away.

Captain Thunderspark chuckled as soon as he was gone. "We should hire him to train new recruits. He'd sure whip them into shape faster than old Blue Moon can." Celestia could not withhold her grin.

"By your leave, Princess Celestia," Captain Cloudhammer then said, "Thunderspark and I need to get started on assembling our teams. I'll return as soon as I can with the Bearers." He and Thunderspark saluted smartly before leaving the room.

Now alone, Princess Celestia sighed once more and slowly placed one hoof in front of the other. She was dreading returning to the throne room. Captains Cloudhammer and Thunderspark she had known longer than any of their superiors, and trusted that if they'd just accept the promotions she kept offering every year that they wouldn't have let the power of their new positions turn them into blustering foals concerned more about escaping the desks they flew to play golf than about matters important to the Royal Guards. Although, when the reputation of the corps was at risk or Equestria in a crisis, they all certainly shaped up and reminded her just why she had promoted them in the first place. Over half of the Wonderbolts had been members of the Pegasus Royal Guard, after all.

Celestia's body stiffened instantly as she felt the magical energy roll against her as soon as the back door opened. She had only to gallop a full two lengths of her body to bear witness to what was causing the disturbance. The scene in the throne room that awaited her was not the one Celestia had expected at all. Instead of abrasive voices or enthused impromptu speeches or arguments, everypony was standing in anxious silence in front of a swirling mass of blue and black cloud. Lightning skittered amidst the cloud, sparking every so often with a crackle that raised the hairs of manes and tails across the room.

Luna turned her head and spotted her sister. "Celestia! It appeared from out of thin air. It gave no warning to its appearance, and—" Celestia frowned the same moment her sister stopped speaking. The cloud began surging with energy; the sheer wind being expelled and blown around the room could attest to the agitation in the air. It pulsed with light, and Celestia's horn quickly illuminated with soft pink light as she cast a detection spell.

Something was coming out.

-M-G-

Far away from Equestria, a tall humanoid mouse was laughing at three figures that were staring at him with stunned expressions. One of these three was a white-feathered duck, another was a dog-man, and a third another black-furred mouse, except this second one stood only about the height of the duck at barely over two feet. The duck was dressed in a blue jacket and hat that resembled a beret, the dog in a green turtleneck, black vest, yellow pants, orange hat and white gloves with goggles over his forehead; and the smaller mouse was garbed in a jacket of two colours, red on the lower half and black on the upper, red pants with yellow pouches on the front, and yellow shoes. The tallest mouse was in an outfit similar to the smaller mouse, though his jacket was gold and orange, and his pants were a pale, sandy yellow.

"Ha-Cha-Cha," laughed the tallest rodent, twirling a purple device in his right hand. "Looks like none of those bozos are gonna be messin' with us for a while now." The mouse stopped twirling the device in his hand and blew at a rod that was sticking out from a concave piece of metal, dispersing the smoke that came out of the rod's bulb. A faint _ping_ sounded from the rear of the device, and the mouse smiled pleasantly and opened up a compartment. He withdrew a steaming muffin in his hand and bit into it. "Mm. Taste that Mick? It's the sweet, sweet taste of my victory. Ha-Cha-Cha!"

"What did you do to them Mortimer?" the smaller mouse growled, flexing his white-gloved right hand. White light flashed into existence around it, and suddenly the mouse was gripping a dark-coloured handle surrounded on four sides by a silver guard. Extending on one end of the guard was the blade of a sword-like weapon, though it was a cylindrical rod made of gold. Where the blade left the hilt was a band of red and at the other end a block of gold extended out, the shape of a three-pointed crown apparently cut out like a cookie-cutter had been put into the metal. Overall, the weapon was in the shape of a giant skeleton key, and extending from the opposite end of the hilt was a chain of golden links, ending in a golden three-circled mouse head.

'Mortimer' grinned and kept his questioner waiting a moment as he chewed on his muffin. He opened his mouth and spoke, the dog, duck, and smaller mouse able to see partially chewed food escaping off his tongue. "I just sent 'em someplace else where they can't interfere with the boss' plans," he replied, "and good luck finding them, _Your Majesty_."

"Where are they?" demanded the duck, anger making the white feathers near his eyes turn red as his blood boiled.

Mortimer laughed. "That's the beauty of this little beauty; I have no idea where it took 'em! But you can bet that wherever they are, it's plenty far from here!" The smaller mouse lunged forward, his overlarge skeleton key swinging out in front of him, but Mortimer jumped back and looked out the window he was standing near to. It was a long way down.

"Gosh Mickey, I'd love to stay and get my tail kicked by you three ninnies," he said, turning back to them, "but I've got bigger and better things to be doing." A pool of darkness suddenly appeared beneath the mouse, and a surging mass of black, dark blue, and purple enveloped him. A moment later, the swirling hole of darkness shot back into the ground and vanished in wisps.

"Get back here!" the duck roared, shaking his fist at the empty space where Mortimer had stood only seconds before.

"He's gone, Donald," the dog said regretfully. Donald tapped his foot repeatedly in frustration and folded his arms over one another.

"Aw phooey!"

"What do we do now, King Mickey?" the dog asked, turning towards the small mouse. Mickey suppressed a sigh and turned towards Donald and Goofy, his Court Magician and Captain of his Knights. The King's Keyblade vanished from his hand in a shimmer of light.

"Welp, much though I don't like it, Mortimer's right. We can't do much right now besides look for them. Rei's the only one who knows who the Keepers are, and if we can't find them all, or if the Horned King finds them first, I don't even want to imagine what's going to happen to the worlds. Donald, when we get back to the ship, you might want to tell Daisy you're going to miss that date of yours."

The duck groaned. "I'd rather fight Xehanort's Heartless again than tell Daisy that," he muttered under his breath.

-G-M-

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	3. Never Seen That Before

_And… here we go._

_Disclaimer: I don't own it at all. Not My Little Pony, not Kingdom Hearts, not Prince, nuthin'._

**-G-M-**

**Chapter Two:** Never Seen That Before

_"But professor," Daring Doo asked in bewilderment, "what you're talking about is beyond the realm of possibility. The Flare of Alzabad isn't even substantially a well-known myth or legend. References to it over the past few centuries have been vaguer than obscure; it's no Sapphire Statue of ancient Aztail ponies or ancestral Goblet of the Gryphon kings of old."_

_ "Precisely, Daring," Professor Bitsworth replied, strangely still with a calm and sensible demeanor. "The Flare of Alzabad _is_ the object of highly obscure references, so much so that it almost appears as though the Flare itself is only a rumor even to the ponies who have written about it. However, I have uncovered that Alzabad the Wondrous' legendary flare has had at least four other names in its history, one of which being the Nebulus Horn."_

_ Daring Doo's magenta eyes bulged for a moment. She opened her mouth, almost shouting out her stunned question. "The Nebulus Horn is really the Flare of Alzabad?" The professor nodded confidently._

_ "I'm sure of it," he answered her. "I've spent the last five months pouring over the writings of Hoofer, Gemstone, Quillton, Bayclop, Virgil, Eeyupidies, and Aristrotle, as well as over a dozen other scrolls written anonymously. I wouldn't be telling you this if I were not one hundred percent convinced of my conviction. The similarities are too numerous when you look at them. Alzabad the Wondrous' remarkable Flare, that gave the unicorn the ability to—_

Rainbow Dash looked up suddenly from her book, _Daring Doo and the Wizard's Flare,_ thinking that she heard an unfamiliar sound. The cyan pegasus swivelled her head around for a few seconds, eyes scanning the horizon for what might have caused it, if she weren't just imagining it. She was about to shrug and return eagerly to the exploits of her favourite adventurer when she heard the sound again. It was the faint call of trumpets, and it sounded like it was coming from Canterlot.

She looked towards the silhouette of the royal city sitting against the mountain in the distance and let out a soft gasp. "I haven't seen that before," she said, watching as the small forms of many chariots took into the air. Her eyes flicked back and forth between each individual dot. She'd never seen that many chariots before; she hadn't thought that Canterlot even _had_ that many. "Something big's going down," Rainbow muttered to herself. She stood up on the cloud she'd been lying down on, picked up her _Daring Doo_ book in her mouth, and transferred it to her saddlebags. Getting them on, she looked once more at Canterlot, and noticed that a larger chariot than the others seemed to be heading in her direction.

_I'd better tell Twilight about this,_ she thought. Flapping her wings, the fastest flier in Equestria took off and streaked for the Ponyville library. It certainly didn't take her long until the large tree was in sight, and Rainbow Dash didn't slow down a smidge as she made a flight for the door. "Incoming!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, noticing that the picture of a lit candle on the door was getting awfully close.

The top half of the door suddenly swung open just in time for Rainbow Dash to enter without completely busting the doors down, as she had done a few times before. She felt resistance behind her less than a second after entering the library, shelves and shelves of books arrayed in a circular pattern around the central reading room in the tree's trunk. Rainbow Dash spared a glance behind at her tail, seeing that it was covered in a magenta glow as Twilight Sparkle used her magic to grasp hold of the pegasus and slow her down.

"Whoa there Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, gritting her teeth and digging her hooves into the wooden floor. She sighed as Rainbow came to a complete stop. "What's the rush? Finished _Daring Doo and the Wizard's Flare_ already? I know it's a hard one to put down, but you only got it out two days ago."

Rainbow Dash dropped onto her hooves. She shook her prismatic-haired head. "No Twilight, it's not that, although the book is really good."

Twilight smiled excitedly. "Oh it's good alright. The way that Daring figures out how the Nebulus Horn can be used to—"

"Gyah!" Rainbow shouted, shoving a hoof into her friend's mouth. "No spoilers Twilight! Don't spoil this one like you did with _Chamber of Spellfire_." Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth. Twilight giggled knowingly.

"Alright, I won't give any spoilers. So, what's up?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her quizzically. "You mean you don't know? Didn't the Princess send you a letter or something?"

Twilight Sparkle's forehead knitted together. "Spike! Did Princess Celestia send a letter today?" Spike walked into the room from where he'd been organizing the shipment of new quills and parchment that had just arrived. Peewee sat perched on his shoulder.

"Letter from Princess Celestia?" he asked. "Nope. Haven't gotten one of those today. Derpy did come by with a letter for you though. Why? Is something wrong?"

"I got a letter," Twilight asked. "Who from?"

"Twilight, I really think you should…"

"It's from your brother," Spike said, coming over to the unicorn with the letter in claw.

"My brother!" Twilight gasped. "I got a letter from Shining Armor and you didn't tell me right away?" The letter escaped Spike's grasp as Twilight snatched it from him with her magic. She grabbed a letter opener with her telekinesis and slit the envelope open.

Rainbow Dash snorted in impatience. True, she'd never known that Twilight Sparkle even _had_ a brother, but now was not the time to be reading letters from family! She couldn't believe this. Princess Celestia hadn't sent a letter to Twilight when it was clear that something major was going on? What in Equestria could have distracted her from sending a simple letter? All the chariots in Canterlot had just flown out, by Celestia, and Rainbow Dash was going to make the egghead listen to her tell her what the Princess should have done already. She stomped a hoof down on the library's hardwood floor and demanded the unicorn's attention with a sharp bark of, "Twilight!"

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash with annoyance, just about to start reading the letter. "What's this about, Rainbow?" Rainbow Dash facehoofed. She didn't have time for this.

"It looks like the entire Royal Guard is mobilizing!" she answered. "I saw more chariots than I even thought existed in Canterlot flying out of there, and it looked like one of them was on its way here."

A knocking sound came from the door. Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation. "Told ya."

"Rainbow Dash, you're exaggerating," Twilight said confidently. "If something major was happening involving Ponyville, I'm sure Princess Celestia would have sent letters to both me and the mayor." She turned towards the door. "The library's open, so come on in. Knocking's a little unnecessary at the moment."

A white pegasus stallion opened the door. He was wearing the golden armour of the Royal Guards and wearing a stern expression on his face. "Miss Twilight Sparkle, Miss Rainbow Dash, I've been ordered to bring you, Spike, and the other Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"Captain Cloudhammer," Twilight said, surprised at the appearance of the Pegasus. "Um, of course we'll come, but whatever for? Is there a problem with Discord?"

"That's not for me to say," he answered her. "My orders are to bring the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to the Princesses so that they can explain the situation to you personally. Now, if you will kindly bring Spike with you, we can be on our way as soon as your friends arrive."

Rainbow Dash shared a look with Twilight, the thought _I knew it_, going through her skull.

-G-M-

On the road between Ponyville and Canterlot, a lone mare sat and watched the sky. Her violet eyes stared as chariots raced through the sky towards settlements in all corners of Equestria. This certainly was not a sight she had laid eyes on every day; the odd chariot flying overhead here or there was not particularly uncommon for her, but the sheer volume of pegasus-drawn golden chariots were enough to even give the Great and Powerful Trixie pause.

The showpony with an azure coat and pale cornflower blue mane got to her hooves again after another minute of watching the skies and resumed her walk to the capital. Trixie had definitely seen better days. Her purple, star-studded cloak was frayed and patched in a couple of places, and her coat and mane could have used a decent brushing. She'd never been able to replace her hat or her cart after that Ursa Minor had smashed them when she'd last been in Ponyville.

"Canterlot will be better than Blazerborough," she said confidently, remembering why she was on the road. "Canterlot is definitely a place where a pony like Trixie can find work. Blazerborough is too small to offer Trixie more than a warm bed for a few nights." She continued forward and ignored the growling of her stomach, though a minute later she did root into her cloak for a moment with her magic and produce a small blue pouch tied at the top with a piece of string. Trixie stopped and took the pouch into her hooves, untying the string at the top with her magic.

She sighed and retied the string after looking into the pouch for a few seconds. The pouch whisked back into its place under her cloak in the azure mare's magic's light purple grasp. "Canterlot had better be better than Blazerborough, Manehattan, Trottingham, and Clopland." Her voice wavered slightly while she spoke. Recognizing the sign of weakness, Trixie quickly glanced around to make sure that nopony had overheard her. When her spot check revealed no ponies on the road at all, she breathed easier and set off again at a trot.

Canterlot was her best bet at the moment. There was no way that she could return to Ponyville, not after the fiasco that had happened there last time, and she couldn't be sure that the ponies of the bumpkin town would be very hospitable to a pony that had inadvertently caused an Ursa to crankily rampage through their home. With a little luck, charm, and her talents at her disposal, Trixie would be able to earn enough bits to get a new cloak, hat, and eat well for a while; maybe even treat herself to a day at the spa and afford a new wagon.

Fortunately, though, the walk right now was pleasant. The sun was shining in the sky, only a few wispy cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere above her. The leaves on the trees Trixie passed by were a vibrant green, the grass and flowers smelled wonderful even from where she trotted on the road, and a few robins were singing back and forth to one another within the range of her hearing. It was a beautiful mid-morning to travel the roads of Equestria.

Trixie's ears twitched as a twig snapped somewhere off the road to her right, and a tree exploded in a flurry of wings as a whole flight of sparrows took off from their roosts. The unicorn turned her gaze towards the source of the sound, suddenly fearful that anypony who was there was stalking her and had overheard her. "Trixie knows that you are there," she declared. "Do you not know that you are standing before the Great and Powerful Trixie? Show yourself!"

There was no response.

Trixie waited a few seconds longer, and then haughtily turned her nose up and resumed her trot. So what if somepony was there? She probably hadn't overheard Trixie's quiet murmurs, reflecting the poor financial straight she found herself in at the moment, and even if she had, she didn't have the pride to come forward and admit that she was there. Regardless, Trixie would be on her way towards better prospects long before that pony could come out from behind the…

Her trot ceased abruptly as a black shadow wiggled its way out of the grass and onto the road in front of her. Trixie looked around in surprise. She had never seen a creature that could produce a shadow like that on the ground, or for one to be so dark when the sun was so brightly shining above. She controlled her surprise when the shadow on the ground came out of it to stand before her, its bulbous head with two antennae wiggling slightly as it looked at her.

Trixie looked down on it disdainfully. "So you're what was spying on the Great and Powerful Trixie just now? Hmph! You're not even a pony, and are hardly worthy of Trixie's time and decent conversation. Away with you! The Great and Powerful Trixie has important business to attend to in Canterlot, and you are in her way."

The black creature that had arisen from its own shadow did not budge, only continued to look at her with its piercing yellow eyes.

The way it was looking at her unnerved the azure unicorn for a moment, but she'd stood her ground in front of an Ursa Minor even if she had been completely incapable of defeating it; this little cockroach would be of little effort to remove from her path. "Very well," Trixie said, "if you refuse to acknowledge the magical powers of Trixie and cease impeding her, then Trixie shall demonstrate for you." Her horn glowed violet, and she picked up the Shadow with her magic and set it down six hooves to the right of the road. It continued to stare at her from its new location, and Trixie gave only a tiny nod at it before hurrying on her way. There had been no need for her to get overly fancy with her magic; the creature obviously wasn't intelligent enough to…

It was in front of her again.

Trixie balked and glanced back at where she'd just placed it, only to realize that that one was still where she'd left it, twenty hooves behind her. She growled, and picked this second one up with her magic and placed it on the opposite side of the road. Her gait fell into a canter. One of those black creatures was enough to spook anypony, but two of them? It didn't matter that they were smaller than Trixie; they made her afraid in a way that the Ursa Minor never had.

A third and a fourth rose up on the road in front of her.

The unicorn veered away from the road to avoid them, now quickening into a full gallop and then returning to the road. She'd always enjoyed audiences, but audiences full of smiling, laughing, and hoofing ponies, not whatever these black things were. Trixie spared a glance behind her and saw that there were more than four shadows on the ground following her, and they were keeping pace!

Trixie puffed and turned her eyes up towards Canterlot. She wasn't in shape to be running any sorts of marathons, and her stomach rumbled again to remind her how empty it was, but she just had to reach Canterlot, she had too. So intent was her concentration on running that she didn't notice the Shadow that appeared in front of her, and she charged right into it. The impact staggered her weakened limbs and Trixie's impact with the road crushed the air out of her lungs, while the Shadow she'd trampled looked dazed as it lay on its back upon the ground.

The azure unicorn tried to take a step to get back onto her hooves, and tried and failed to suppress a cry of pain. She must have strained a muscle in her leg when she'd suddenly collided with the creature, and now her legs wouldn't support her run for sure. Already there was a light sheen of sweat on her coat. The injured unicorn watched as the creatures surrounded her in a ring. She counted eight of them altogether now, slowly inching towards her with claws outstretched and ready to pounce.

Her fear vanished underneath a cloud of anger. She snarled as her azure horn became surrounded by a violet glow. "All Trixie had been trying to do was get to Canterlot so that she could begin anew, but since you all seem so eager to see the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie, I can do nothing but oblige you!"

Trixie's horn shone brightly while the lines of a circular glyph bearing her cutie mark of a magic wand and crescent moon within illuminated the ground beneath her body. "Prepare to be awestruck by the magic of Trixie!" she shouted, her horn glowing even brighter and her eyes open wide in anger. Trip her up, delay her, and frighten Trixie will they? She'd show them. She'll create enough charged nimbus clouds to destroy all of them with their lightning, and then the black shadows would chase Trixie no more. She'd be free to travel alone and in quiet once more.

The black clouds were already forming in the sky above Trixie as she worked her magic. They swirled together, forms of condensed obsidian water vapor with particles vibrating against one another as each individual cloud formed. Number three, number four, number five, number six…

Trixie let out a gasp of pain as one of the eight from behind her leapt forward and scratched at her flank with a claw. The sixth cloud dissipated just after it had finished forming as Trixie's concentration broke from the sudden injury. Her already frayed cloak tore along the scratch, and she gasped as the pouch that contained the meagre amount of bits she still had saved up was dislodged and fell to the ground. The Shadow swiped at her again, and somehow missed, its claws cutting into the pouch and flinging it into the grass instead. Trixie glared daggers at the black creature that was eye-to-eye with her while what remained of her money fell from her broken pouch like golden drops of rain, and a lightning bolt from one of the five remaining clouds zapped the creature right in the middle of its head. The creature burst apart into wisps of darkness, and the sudden change in its form shocked Trixie back slightly. Her cloud dissolved, only one good bolt in it because she'd worked on trying to create so many.

Another came at her from behind, and Trixie leveled her gaze on it. Another one of her clouds smote it with a lightning strike, turning it into wisps much like the first one, but there were still six more of them, and she had only three clouds left. Trixie bit back another shriek of pain as the claws of a different one connected with her left shoulder, and an angry tear welled up in her eyes even as it was blasted away by a third lightning bolt. The Great and Powerful Trixie, laid low by black things three-quarters her size and surely without her talent. Trixie had thought that she'd been climbing up from having fallen to rock bottom, but to have it all taken from her again and end like this…

She let the tear fall and glared once more at the creatures darting around her prone form. "I won't forgive you for this." Her horn glowed bright one last time, and a blast of violet light shot out from it, spearing right through the Shadow directly in front of her. For a moment, Trixie almost thought that she saw something solid within the light, but weariness overcame her from the effort and she saw no more.

-G-M-

"Hey, what's that down there?"

Twilight looked in the direction Pinkie Pie was pointing. It hadn't taken Captain Cloudhammer and his fellow Pegasus Guards long to gather her other four best friends and assemble them on the large golden chariot Princess Celestia usually rode on. Rainbow Dash had argued initially as to why she and Fluttershy should even ride the chariot when they could already fly, but a short sentence and glare from Captain Cloudhammer silenced the usually brash pegasus pony.

Down below on the road she could make out a flash of purple light, and she thought that she could see small black dots moving around a blue and purple mass in the centre of the road. "What do you suppose that is?" Rarity asked, leaning towards Twilight and Spike.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "Captain Cloudhammer!" she called, loud enough so the Royal Guard Captain could hear her. "What's going on down there?"

"It isn't your concern," he answered her. "We are to bring the Bearers to the Princesses as quickly as possible. The Royal Guards will handle it."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "What the hay's going on? And if the Royal Guards are supposed to handle it, doesn't that mean you guys?"

"Captain," one of the pegasi pulling the chariot with Cloudhammer spoke up, "it's a unicorn being attacked by those Shadows."

"Shadows?" Applejack asked. Captain Cloudhammer ignored her and looked instead at his subordinate.

"Are you sure Lieutenant Firefly?"

"My eyes are sharp, sir. I'm not lying." The captain seemed to dwell on this information for a second before he turned his head back towards Twilight's group.

"Keep your hooves steady, Miss Sparkle, we're going down!" Twilight and the others barely had time to hold on as the chariot suddenly nosedived for the unicorn on the ground. The wind whipped through her mane, and she could hear Rarity wailing about how it would take her _forever_ to fix her mane so that she could be presentable to Princess Celestia. Peewee was shrieking excitedly while Spike tried to keep him close. Twilight looked back at the baby dragon and was horrified to see him being left behind by the chariot.

"Spike!" Her horn glowed with magenta light and she quickly caught both him and the phoenix hatchling with her magic. The pair quickened in their descent with her help, and a second later they were hanging on for dear life with the screaming ponies, except for Pinkie.

"Woohoo!" crowed the pink earth pony, reared up on her hind legs with her hooves in the air. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Applejack yelled. "How are you still standing?"

"Applejack! Put your hooves in the air like this! It's incredible! Weeee—EE!" The chariot suddenly jerked up as Captain Cloudhammer and his pegasi righted themselves not two hooves up from the ground and touched down. Before Twilight could even adjust to the change in g-forces that assaulted her body, the Pegasus Royal Guards had already unhitched themselves from the chariots and were galloping the short distance to the unicorn.

Rarity leaned over the edge of the chariot, her white face looking somewhat green. "Rainbow Dash, please never ask them to do something like that again."

"I don't know what your problem is, Rarity, but what the hay are those black things?" Twilight blinked stars out of her eyes and turned her gaze away from her friends and towards the unicorn. She couldn't help but gasp. She couldn't ever remember reading anything that had a description like the five creatures Cloudhammer's pegasi were currently engaged with. They lashed out at the Royal Guards with clawed fingers and waddled or hopped on overlarge feet. One pegasus turned and kicked at one, only for his hooves to strike nothing as the black creature sank into the ground and took the shape of its own shadow.

"What are these things?" she asked aloud.

"I don't know Twilight," Fluttershy commented, "but I've certainly never seen anything like them before."

"They are kinda funny looking, though," Pinkie Pie said. Captain Cloudhammer kicked one full in its face with both his rear hooves, and the creature simply vanished! Twilight shook her head, eyes wide in bewilderment.

_In no book I've read was there ever a mention of a creature that turned into nothing when it was hit! That's impossible!_

"What was _that_ just now?" she asked. "What are these things? What's going on?"

"We'll handle these!" Captain Cloudhammer yelled at her. "Miss Sparkle, you and your friends see to our friend here."

"Uh, right," said Applejack. She leapt out of the chariot. "Come on everypony!" The cowpony led the charge right past the Royal Guards, and was the first to gasp when they arrived at the unconscious unicorn. Twilight nosed past her and ignored Rainbow Dash's groan and facehoof. She'd only seen this particular unicorn once when she'd come to Ponyville, but there was no way Twilight Sparkle could mistake that cloak, coat, mane, and cutie-mark.

"Trixie," she gasped softly. Twilight glanced back. "Captain Cloudhammer, she needs help right away!"

The pegasus grunted as he reared onto his hind legs and flapped his wings hard, pushing back the last Shadow in front of him with a gust of wind. One of his other pegasi caught it in the back with a nicely-timed kick, and the being vanished in that inexplicable wisp of smoke. Cloudhammer and his team ran at a canter to Twilight's position, and with a nod he agreed with Celestia's protégé. "It's not part of our mandated mission, but protecting the ponies of Equestria is still our first duty. Firefly, Quickbeam, load her onto the chariot, and be gentle about it. Miss Dash, Miss Fluttershy, I'm afraid you'll have to fly alongside us this time."

Fluttershy meekly nodded her head and took a step back from the captain, intimidated by his stern demeanour and reputation as a Royal Guard from the moment she'd laid eyes on him.

"Twilight, are you sure about this?" Rarity asked. "Think of all the trouble she caused us."

Twilight glared at her friend with admonishing eyes. "Rarity, she's injured! Trixie may have been bragging and lied about defeating an Ursa, but it was Snips and Snails who brought it into Ponyville; and in case you forgot, she still tried her best to beat it and protect Ponyville."

"But Twilight…"

"Ah know yer still upset about her turning yer mane green Rarity," Applejack said, "but Ah'm with Twi on this one. Sure she may have been a bit of a stick in the mud, but she's hurtin' pretty bad now, and what kinda ponies would we be if we just left her here?"

"Thank you Applejack," Twilight said gratefully, noticing that Rarity was nodding a little. Her eyes flicked to Trixie's sleeping form and then back to the ground at her hooves.

"I suppose you're right, Applejack," she said. "But if she insults my mane again, I cannot promise that I will restrain myself."

"Good enough," Applejack agreed, grinning at the unicorn.

"Miss Sparkle," Captain Cloudhammer's iron voice cut into them once again. "We must move on. We've already lost time dealing with these creatures."

"What are they anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked. The captain shook his head.

"We're not entirely sure ourselves," he answered, "but we do know that they're dangerous and threatening Equestria. It is their appearance that has warranted the summoning of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and, as I have made clear before, it is my duty to get you to Celestia."

"Yes, of course," Twilight agreed before he could pressure them again. "Let's go everypony. Hopefully Princess Celestia will be able to clear all of this up."

-G-M-

"Sora-nii-chan! Wake up! Wake up!"

_Seriously, wake up,_ said a voice inside of his head, sounding as if it were barely restraining laughter. _You're not going to believe this!_

Sora groaned and blearily opened his eyes before shutting them immediately. He recognized that he was having a splitting headache. _Shut up Roxas,_ he retorted. _I'm not in the mood right now._

_Suit yourself,_ chortled his Nobody.

Another shove struck Sora's shoulder and the voice of his younger sister continued in its persistence in telling him to get up. Sora rubbed a hoof to his face. "Alright I'm—"

_Wait, _hoof_?_

The thought startling him completely awake, Sora snapped his eyes open and tried his best to ignore the pounding in his head, a pounding he duly noticed was slowly getting weaker. He noticed that the thing he'd rubbed into his face wasn't a hand as he'd first thought, but was indeed a horse's hoof, with a coat of brown fur. In front of his cerulean eyes stood a little filly with a light cyan coat and a mane of banana-yellow with twin streaks of vanilla running through it. Her tail curled out behind her, its colour only that of the yellow atop her head. On her cheeks by her violet eyes were a trio of darkened freckles, and a rounded horn was sticking out from the top of her head. Against her flank was the image of a very unique skeleton key that he immediately recognized as Thunderbell, and on her back was a strap that held up two small, white, rectangular saddlebags, each bag with her Keyblade's image printed on it.

Sora shook his head twice to clear it quickly before he sat up and stared at his little sister. "Rei, you're a little unicorn!" The filly giggled and bounced up and down on her hooves.

"I know! Isn't it great! Look! Riku and Kairi are ponies too!"

Sora frowned as Roxas began laughing from within his head…heart…wherever. "Now Rei, we aren't ponies. We're horses, and you're a unicorn foal."

"Onii-chan, you've got wings like Pegasus," Rei countered, completely ignoring what he'd just said.

"I've got what?" he asked, quickly craning his neck around to examine his side. Sure enough, there they were, just in front of a tattoo of the Kingdom Key he'd somehow gotten on his flank. Just behind his wings he saw bags almost exactly like Rei's, except bigger and with the Kingdom Key on them. Now that he knew that his wings existed, he was sure that he could even feel them. With a thought he extended his wings out and examined the feathers on them. They sure looked and felt real enough to him, though they did look a little small in proportion to his body…

"Never seen that before," he mumbled quietly. Pegasus' wings were much bigger than his were, and he also figured that Pegasus himself was also much bigger than he was at the moment. If anything, he'd shrunk at least a foot in height. Sora groaned. _Oh, _please_ don't tell me that I'm not a horse. Please, _please_ don't tell me that I'm a pony._

_Okay, then I won't tell you._

Sora sighed, unfolded his wings, and decided that it was time enough to take in the surroundings before Rei or Roxas distracted him again. The floor was mostly grey stone, though there was a pile of straw in the corner that Sora guessed was for sleeping on. Three walls were stone, and one look at the other made it clear that the four of them were stuck in a cell; the black iron bars were a dead giveaway. Outside were two ponies dressed in golden armour with plumed helmets. Both were unicorns, and one was a bright yellow while the other unicorn was white as snow; both unicorns were standing so still they could have been statues. Riku and Kairi were nearby, Sora only able to tell that that's who they were by the colours of their manes and Kairi's hat. Riku had become a fierce turquoise unicorn stallion, his short silver mane still sweeping down to partially cover his closed eyes, and Kairi had turned into a winged horse like Sora had, except that her coat was light pink and her red mane and tail had been divided into cherry and strawberry underneath the girl's raspberry beret. On Riku's flank resided the image of Way to the Dawn, while on Kairi's he could see Destiny's Embrace. Both had white saddlebags like his and Rei's, each bearing the mark of the tattoos on their flanks.

Roxas chuckled in Sora's mind. _Heh, checking out your girlfriend are you? Planning on getting freaky as winged horses?_

Sora rolled his eyes and snorted. _If you've got any weird and freaky form fetishes you want to do with Naminé, that's your own damn problem that can wait until we've figured out how to somehow give you both bodies of your own. Kairi and I aren't going to fulfill any of your sick scenarios._ Roxas just laughed.

_You know I was joking right? I know you two would never do anything like that, at least, not until you've reached that level of intimacy normally, that is._

Sora just gave a mental nod and didn't feel the compulsion to answer. He and Kairi were comfortable with where their relationship was at, and neither was placing pressure on the other to take it further at the moment. The brown pegasus with a wild mane of spiked chocolate hair walked slowly up to the still sleeping female and nudged her with his nose. "Hey, Kairi, wake up."

She groaned in her sleep and he nudged her again. Kairi batted his face away with a hoof. "Stop it Sora, that wet cloth is cold." He snorted slightly in a chuckle, and Kairi's attempts to ward him off ceased abruptly as she felt the hot air come out of his flaring nostrils and strike her cheek. She opened her bright indigo eyes, and stared at Sora for a few seconds in bewilderment.

"Kairi! Look!" Rei said excitedly, bounding beside her big brother. "We've been turned into ponies!" The redhead just glanced between Sora and Rei in astonishment for a few seconds, her mouth open wide.

Sora looked at her in concern. She'd never quite acted this way when they'd transformed before. Okay, she was a little like this in the Pride Lands, but that was because it was the first time they'd turned into quadrupeds.

_No,_ Roxas reminded him, _it wasn't because you guys had four legs, it was because she thought we were…_ he left his sentence hanging, and Sora remembered. He almost sighed.

A HUGE smile came onto Kairi's face as she jumped onto her rear hooves and picked up Rei in her forehooves. "Soo _cute_!" she exclaimed, giggling like a little girl. "Rei! You're a teensy-weensy cute little unicorn!"

"And you're a really pretty pegasus, Kairi," answered Rei, smiling just as wide as the pink-coated pony.

"And you're just adorable, Sora," Kairi added, giving her boyfriend a warm smile.

He would have dearly loved to deny her, just this once; to frown and scowl and turn it around, but that smile of hers melted him. And besides, it wasn't as if she and Rei weren't cute either. Kairi dropped back down onto all four hooves, surprisingly having had very good balance for the short period of time in which she'd reared up, and looked around. "Hey, where's Riku?"

"Over here," said the voice of the other male of their group, "trying to come to terms with this catastrophe." Sora turned to look at his best friend, who was now standing on his feet and glaring at his hooves.

"What catastrophe?" Kairi asked simply, giddy like a kid at Christmas with everyone having been turned into equines. "You make a good-looking unicorn, Riku."

He glowered at her, his voice dropping into a deeper level of cynicism. "I'm a _unicorn_? Great. I thought it was bad enough that I'm _blue_, but I'm a girly unicorn too? Zeus, strike me down now, please."

"But you look so amazing Riku!" Rei burst out. The silver-maned unicorn snorted.

Sora sighed. "Come on Riku. Sure, it may be one of the stranger forms I've been turned into, but it can't be all that bad. I mean, hey, Kairi and I have wings right? So we should be able to fly. And look at you! Look at that horn!"

"Don't remind me about the horn."

"But look at how pointy and sharp it is!"

Riku paused in his retort and appeared to think about it for a second. He grinned. "Right, a horn, I've got a horn! Hey, Sora, can you switch out with Roxas for a second?"

"Why?"

"I want to head butt that guy."

"And Riku, look," Kairi spoke up before Sora could come to the defence of his already protesting Nobody, "you've got the Way to the Dawn tattooed on your flank." Riku looked over at his side.

"Well, I don't know why I've got a tattoo on, I guess my hip, but it does look pretty good," he commented on the appearance of his red-bladed Keyblade with its bat-wing hilt and angel-wing key. He looked back at Kairi. "Better than you, though."

At this, she blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're pink." Kairi frowned.

"I'm what?" she growled.

"You're pink," Riku repeated. For the first time, Kairi looked herself over. Sora had to put a hoof in his mouth to keep himself from laughing as she started muttering to herself.

"Pink. Why did my fur have to be a light pink? I know it's my favourite colour, but why couldn't I have a cool looking coat of fur like scarlet or white or even royal purple or emerald? Heck, even straight black with pink stripes would be better than this. And what's with this? Destiny's Embrace next to my ass? Gods, why _that_ Keyblade? No, shut up Naminé, I don't care that it was the first one I used, it's the girliest Keyblade ever. Why couldn't I have the Oathkeeper instead? Is there a way to change these forms, Sora?" He shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Kairi, I'm _brown_. If I could change my coat colour, I would."

"But you're a nice, mahogany/rust brown! You look good in that colour!"

"I was an ash-black lion cub because my clothes were black. Riku was a cream-coloured jackal, Rei was a yellow cub, and you were a pink lioness cub because of your dress. In Atlantica I have a blue dolphin tail, Riku a grey seal's tail, Rei's a brown otter, and you're a pink jellyfish thing from your waist down. Then I became a yellow Mustang, Riku a black Jaguar, and Rei a teal Subaru while you were a pink Mercedes. If anything, your colouring is consistent throughout."

"But can't I be something other than pink just once? I wasn't even wearing the clothes Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather made for us when we got—"

Kairi stopped, stunned into silence. Sora had growled halfway through and took a few quick steps towards her before planting his lips over hers. Rei turned her face away and raised a hoof towards her mouth, making a retching sound. Riku chuckled a little at her actions before shaking his head, and only managing to get a bit more of his silver mane into his eyes.

Sora detached himself from the kiss when he felt her resistance waver and looked her straight in the eyes. A rippling indigo sea filled his vision. "And you're gorgeous in pink, Iri," he whispered, "so please stop fussing about it."

She blushed. "I guess so," replied the girl-turned-pegasus, drawing a circle on the floor with her hoof. "I still don't like having Destiny's Embrace on me back there, but I guess we can't do anything about it, now is there?"

"Not really, I don't think," Rei said.

"There is one thing we can make sure that someone here doesn't do," Riku said sternly. The other three looked at him, and Riku stomped his hoof down. "Jiminy! You are not taking pictures of me like this!"

A cricket in a black jacket with tails and a top hat popped out of Sora's mane. Sora raised a hoof, and the Royal Chronicler jumped onto the offered appendage. "Why's that Riku? I've always taken group photos after Sora and the guys have transformed."

"It's because I know what's going to happen if you do," Riku answered. He pointed a hoof accusingly at Sora and Kairi. "If you take a picture of me like this, then it's going to end up in the hands of these two and before long it'll get onto the web and I'll never get another date! Ever!"

The couple laughed. "Come on Riku, you know we'd never do that," Kairi assured him.

"But I thought you didn't even like going on those dates," Sora said, smirking.

"I don't, but I won't get any of the tolerable girls anymore like Ashe, Penelo, or Garnet; and I literally shudder to think of what Selphie would do." Riku actually shuddered.

Sora chuckled half-heartedly. He needed to assure Riku, even though he was kidding himself. "I'm sure Selphie wouldn't really mean to…"

"She'd blackmail me with the picture for sex," Riku said bluntly.

Sora's eyes opened wide and quickly searched for Rei. Fortunately, she'd apparently gotten bored of listening to the teenager talk and was trying to engage the guards outside the cell in conversation by asking them any and all questions about unicorns or ponies or if they could talk or had families or anything that came to her mind about this world and what it was like. She might as well have been talking to a wall for all the answers she got, but fortunately her mind was occupied enough that she hadn't seemed to have caught what Riku had said. Relief flooded into Sora's mind for a brief second before it snapped into anger. "Dude, my _little sister_'s right there!"

Riku winced. "Right, sorry Sora. That was totally my bad." Sora sighed. He started to move his leg, and Jiminy hopped back onto Sora's head.

"It's okay." He glanced back at Rei, then came closer to Riku and began to whisper. Kairi entered into the pony huddle as well so that she could hear what Sora was saying. "But would Selphie seriously do that? I thought she was hung up on Tidus?" He glanced at Kairi.

"She is and she isn't," the beret-wearing girl—pegasus—whispered, "but know that I'm breaking pinky promises with Selphie not to share this, so if she finds out that I'm telling you two…you've been warned." She placed an empty hoof in front of the other two.

Sora and Riku placed hooves on top of Kairi's, and together they said, "I solemnly swear to abide by the code of tell-not-again, to never tell anyone besides these friends holding my hand what we are about to tell." They bopped their hooves down and up before breaking them apart. "Jiminy, that goes for you too," Sora said. The cricket nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Kairi whispered at the end of their ritual, "So she does like Tidus, but she also likes you, Riku. Or, rather…" she blushed, "she's heard blitzball locker room stories about how big your…uh…" she glanced over at Rei; the filly was still oblivious to their talking.

"Oh…" Riku deadpanned. He looked down and away. Suddenly, the circle was very awkward. Sora pawed at the stone floor with a hoof.

"So anyway," Kairi started anew, "yes, I think that if she were to get a picture of you as a unicorn right now, she probably would blackmail you into having s—having a fun night together with her," she corrected herself quickly. Kairi took one more look at her boyfriend, Riku, Rei, and then the ponies guarding the outside of their cell. An annoyed expression came onto her face. "How did we get here anyway, or in this cell? And where is here for that matter?"

"Oh that's an easy one!" a bubbly voice announced suddenly from outside the cell. Sora whipped around, Riku and Kairi scarcely a half-second behind, and they saw a bubble-gum pink pony standing outside of their cell. She had a poofy, frizzled mane of bright pink hair that crested over her head, cheery blue eyes, and three balloons tattooed onto her flank. Sora wondered if _every_ pony in this world had a tattoo right there, and if every one of them could talk too.

"You're in the dungeons of Canterlot Castle in Canterlot!" the pink pony exclaimed. She looked around excitedly. "Are you guys excited about that? I know I'm excited. I've never seen the dungeons before. They're all so dark and gloomy and creepy and dungeony! Aren't they the best dungeons you've ever seen? All nice and clean, even if they are dark and gloomy and dungeony. Hey, you know what this needs? My friends and I should get thrown into the dungeon too, and then we can all have a big 'Rebels Breaking the Law and Sticking it to the Princesses in the Dungeon Party'! Wouldn't that be absolutely amazing?"

Sora wasn't entirely sure how to react to this crazy pony, but Rei gasped and cantered the few feet towards her big brother. "Sora-nii-chan! That sounds really fun! Can we do it? Can we? Can we?"

_Yeah, can we have a Stick-It-To-The-Man party?_ Roxas asked, sounding for all the world like an over-excited kid. Kairi and Riku were both grinning deviously at Sora, Kairi even nudging him a little. They loved watching him squirm whenever Rei asked for something like this.

"Uh, well, Rei, you know we don't really have time," he said, not looking his kid sister in the eye. "We need to figure out how we got here, get out of this place, and try to find a way back to the King."

The pink pony gasped loudly, and her face grew even brighter in excitement. "The _King_? I've never heard of a king before! Equestria's been ruled by the princesses for ages and ages and ages! Are you from another pony country then? Are you secret agent ponies who were captured spying on Princess Luna with a mysterious unicorn on a midnight stroll together? Wait, I know! You're really ninjas, sent to assassinate Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and got beat up by the guards long before you ever saw them! Though why you would bring a little filly along with you to assassinate the princesses is beyond me; shame on you for dragging her into your nefarious plans!"

"Wait, what?" Sora, Riku, and Kairi all asked at once, stunned being the understatement of the century. "No," Riku said firmly. "We're not ninjas or spies or people sent by the paparazzi to get the goods on your princesses. In fact, we don't even know who your princesses are or even what Equestria is."

"Sora, princesses!" Rei exclaimed. "Could we meet the princesses?" He made the mistake of looking into her eyes. Dang it! Her pouting was even cuter when she was this little cyan unicorn foal. Rei could sense the defeat in his resultant smile and cheered.

Kairi rubbed her head against Sora's neck. "You're cute when you cave like that." Sora sighed, but the smile on his face stayed.

"It also helps that he's a total sap," Riku chuckled.

"And a lazy bum," added Kairi. Sora just shook his head. Equestria, huh? Obviously they must be on another world, but how did they get…

"Mortimer."

"Huh?"

Sora stomped a hoof down on the stone. "Mortimer. That's how we got here. That device he shot us with, it must have sent us here! But how did he get it?"

"Professor Ludwig von Drake did say that his combination portal gun and muffin maker got stolen," Rei answered him.

"Yes, but by Pete," Riku reminded the filly, "not Mortimer."

Kairi glanced over her shoulder worriedly, as if she was scared that something might suddenly appear there. "So, is that our proof? Does that mean that the Horned King really did beat Maleficent?"

"Even if he did, there's no way that Maleficent's gone for good," Sora assured her, although he wasn't sure why it would be a good thing for Maleficent not to be gone. "That old hag's just too stubborn to call it quits." The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he looked back at the pink pony outside of their cell. She was staring at them as if she'd never seen them before, and was completely stock-still. Something about that was just plain creepy; even the guards were getting fidgety, and they hadn't moved or spoken a word during her exhausting dialogue.

"Hey, miss interrogator, why so quiet all of a sudden?" Kairi asked politely.

"You…you said 'people', not 'ponies'," she mumbled. "People..." She gasped loudly. "YOU GUYS ARE HUMAN!"

_Ow, my bleeding ears!_

Sora winced and refrained from mentally smacking his Nobody on the back of the head, if only because her screech had brought that headache of his back for a moment. He opened his mouth to try and talk to her, but she was jittering around with her legs moving like hummingbird wings. "HUMAN! HUMAN! HU-HU-HUMAN!" She gasped, her smile returning and spreading the entire length of her face from one ear to the other. "Hey, my friend Lyra would _love_ to meet you guys! I know, we can all have one big 'humans turned into ponies' meet and greet party in Ponyville once you get out of the slammer."

"But we don't even know what we're doing in this cell in the first place!" Riku told her.

"I've got to admit, it's the first time I've woken up already captured on a new world before," Sora muttered to Kairi. "Every other time I at least had two minutes before the bad guys came by and gloated at us. But I've never seen a bad guy like this before."

"I'm not even sure she is a bad guy, onii-chan," Rei said, shuffling over to her brother. The faint clopping of hooves coming down the corridor was staring to echo over to his ears. "She seems real nice. A little kooky, but nice."

The pink pony turned her head and shouted. "Hey! Twilight! Looky-looky! Don't tell anypony, but these ponies here, they're not ponies, they're _humans_."

Sora could hear a sigh, and then for whatever reason he heard Rikku say, "Pinkie, are you sure they aren't just ponies in human costumes?"

The five of them in the cell all looked at each other. "Rikku?" Riku asked. "What's she doing here? I thought she was still on the _Highwind_."

"She _is_ still on the _Highwind_," Jiminy said, still sitting in front of Sora's mane on the mahogany pegasus' head. "The last I checked, she, Yuna, and Paine were all still there, anyway."

"But there's no way she could have followed us through the portal Mortimer shot at us," Kairi argued, total bewilderment lacing her voice. "They weren't anywhere—"

The pink pony gasped loudly again. "That cricket just talked!"

A soft voice spoke up in sudden excitement. "A talking cricket! Where? Oh Pinkie Pie, where is the little guy?" The next moment a new pony was standing in front of the cell. Her coat was a soft yellow, and her sweeping mane and tail were marshmallow-pink. There was a tattoo on her flank too (hers a cluster of butterflies), and wings were folded against her sides. She peered through the bars with bright blue eyes, zeroing in on the cricket atop Sora's head.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi shared unimpressed looks. This was a world full of talking ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, and yet they were surprised by talking crickets? Rei, on the other hand, had her eyes full of awe at seeing another new pony. She was silently squeeing from the excitement, and Sora hoped that she wouldn't faint from over-exposure to this place.

_Forget faint. When we're all done, she'll want us, Mom, and Dad to move here with her._ Sora couldn't help but agree with that.

"Hi there," the new pegasus said softly to Jiminy. "I'm Fluttershy. What's your name?"

Jiminy looked a little surprised at first that there was someone here so interested in him, but his manners promptly returned to him. Coughing into his hand and lightly tapping Sora between the eyes with his umbrella, Jiminy hopped down onto a hoof that Sora raised for him and extended closer to Fluttershy. Jiminy lifted his top hat from his head and swept into a tiny bow for the cricket. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Madame Fluttershy. Cricket's the name, Jiminy Cricket at your service."

"Wow, and he's so polite too," Fluttershy commented to herself as Sora replaced Jiminy on the top of his head.

"That's enough Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy," said a different voice as more ponies came into their field of vision. The corridor outside of their cell had suddenly become very crowded as another pegasus, this one with a cyan coat and prismatic mane and tail and a tattoo that looked like Zeus' symbol, except with a rainbow lightning bolt; two unicorns, one marshmallow-white with a beautiful purple mane and tail with a tattoo of three sparkling diamonds, and the other lavender with a purple mane and tail that held a hot-pink streak with the mark of a pink star surrounded by white ones; an orange pony with a straw mane and tail wearing a cowboy hat with apples on her flank; a baby purple dragon with green spines; and two alicorns with flowing manes wearing crowns and impressive regalia, black on the midnight-blue alicorn and gold on the much taller white one. Sora's eyes saw the marks on the flanks of the two alicorns, the smaller one with a crescent moon and the larger one with a radiant sun, and guessed that with their crowns that these two were the princesses Pinkie Pie had mentioned. It was the white alicorn who was speaking, "It is time we questioned these ponies properly, so that we'll know exactly who they are and if they're connected to those creatures."

"Sora, Sora!" Rei squealed, looking back and forth between the new arrivals and her older brother. "Look! Look! There are so many—alicorns! Alicorns! And unicorns and pegasuses and and…" her eyes rolled into the top of her head and she slumped forward. Fear seized him completely for a moment and he shouted his sister's name, falling onto his legs to catch her.

He would have made it too, if she hadn't suddenly been surrounded by a magenta glow and was held in place for an extra second before she gently fell onto his hooves. Sora looked up quizzically, and saw the purple unicorn's horn glowing with the same colour as the light surrounding his sister. The glow faded, and all of Rei's small weight now fell onto his hooves. Sora folded his legs underneath him and sat on the ground, placing Rei close to his side and wrapping a wing around her. He could feel her soft breathing touching his side, and Sora sighed.

_I guess it was too much for her,_ he thought, chuckling slightly now that he was sure she was alright. He looked up at the alicorns who stood in front of the other ponies, and noticed that the two unicorn guards were walking away, probably at the alicorn's request. Riku and Kairi sidled up next to Sora and slightly in front of him, adding their bodies to the protection of their youngest member and Sora, knowing that lying down was not the way he'd have preferred to be interrogated.

"Who are you?" Riku asked sharply, his voice cracking like a whip. "Why are we locked up here?"

"Forget who we are, darling," the white unicorn said quickly, hearts in her eyes as she looked at him. "Who are _you_?"

Kairi smirked at Riku and whispered, "What was that about never getting a date again, Riku?"

"I said _tolerable_," he hissed.

"I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria," the white alicorn stated, "and I would like to make one thing clear. We have detained you only because we know nothing about you, and recent events have put us into a state of caution. I do not know who you little ponies are or what your intentions are, but you arrived in a strange cloud on the heels of something we have never seen before in Equestria. Forgive me for having my guards lock you in here or not, but now is the time for answers, so I hope you will be forthcoming with them."

"Great…" Riku muttered. "We're about to be interrogated by a pony princess. Donald's never going to let any of us hear the end of this one."

"For starters," Princess Celestia said, her eyes narrowing at Riku. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sora," Sora began as he typically did, "this is Kairi, Riku, and my little sister Rei. This guy here is Jiminy." Jiminy lifted his top hat again, and nodded at Princess Celestia. For the most part her face still held its stern expression, but it looked as though her eyes found the cricket somewhat charming.

"What was that cloud the four of you appeared in?" Celestia asked.

"It was a portal," Kairi answered. "We were—"

The lavender unicorn interrupted her, her voice filled with excitement. "You know portal magic?"

The four of them glanced at each other again. Sora spoke up. "Rikku?" he asked curiously, extending his head towards the unicorn.

She shook her head in confusion. "Huh? Why are you looking at me? I thought you just said that he was Riku." They all shook their heads.

"Sorry," Kairi apologized for them. "This is Riku, with one 'k' in his name. We have another friend named Rikku, with two 'k's in her name, and you sound exactly like her."

"I must admit, your names sound strange on my tongue," the midnight alicorn told them. "Sora, Riku, Kairi, Rei, and Jiminy. They certainly aren't like many I've heard before."

"Well, what are your names?" Riku asked. "Don't we at least get to know who all of our interrogators are?"

The white alicorn sighed. "Alright. I suppose we can tell you that much before we continue. As I've already said, I'm Princess Celestia. This is my younger sister, Princess Luna," she indicated the smaller alicorn beside her, "my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle," the lavender unicorn, "her assistant, Spike," the little dragon, "and her friends: Rarity," the other unicorn, "Rainbow Dash," the blue pegasus, "Applejack," the orange pony in the hat, "Fluttershy," she raised a hoof, "and Pinkie Pie." The pink pony waved exuberantly at them. "Now then," Celestia continued, "you have also been detained because of the cutie marks you all bear. Few ponies have ever had weapons as—"

"Wait," Riku groaned, turning to look at Way to the Dawn's image on his body. "You mean that this tattoo here is called a 'cutie mark'? Oh gods, my street cred is ruined forever."

"You don't have any street cred, Riku," Sora sniped.

"Then what's the team going to think if they find out about this?" he retorted.

"Simple," Kairi answered, "_you don't tell them._"

"I need you two to pledge that too," he ordered.

"We're still in high school Riku," Kairi reminded him, "we don't even go to your university!"

"Swear it!"

Sora and Kairi both sighed tiredly. "Fine," Sora agreed, "but not now. Princess Celestia's giving us a funny look." The white alicorn was indeed looking at them strangely, but now her face was far from stern; she seemed curious about what she would learn from this conversation more than anything.

"Sister," Princess Luna said softly, "they don't seem to be bad ponies."

"No, they don't," Celestia said, "but just because they don't seem bad doesn't mean that they aren't. They could still be in league with those Shadows."

Ears perked up inside the cell. "Shadows?" Sora asked, removing his wing from Rei and standing up. "What did they look like?" Princess Celestia looked like she was about to remind him that she was doing the questioning, but the seriousness in Sora's voice at his question held her back for a moment. Correctly interpreting her hesitation, Sora nodded to Jiminy, who quickly dove into Sora's mane and came out a second later, bearing a book in his tiny hands. The cricket carried it down to the edge of Sora's snout, which was now placed almost to the bars of the cell, and opened the book.

"Did they look like this?" Jiminy asked, showing the ponies a picture.

Princess Luna gasped. Her horn glowed with light, and the translucent image of a Shadow appeared on the floor beside her. "Yes, exactly like that," she told them.

"How do _you_ know about them?" Rainbow Dash's abrasive voice asked, the cyan pegasus butting up against the bars. "Are you in cahoots with them? Are you spy ponies?"

"Oh no Dashie," Pinkie Pie said with a giggle. "They already told me that they're not."

Princess Celestia looked between the image Luna had conjured and the picture Jiminy was showing her. They were identical. "How _do_ you know of the Shadows?" she asked.

"They're called Heartless," Sora explained seriously. "That kind there is actually called a Shadow, and it's the weakest type of Heartless."

"Heartless?" Rarity asked. "My, what an uncouth name."

"Well they certainly were uncouth when they were attacking Trixie, Rarity," Applejack said.

"Heartless," Princess Luna murmured. "What do you know about these…'Heartless'? Just how dangerous are they?"

"A lot, and very," Riku answered. "The Heartless were first created as experiments by a man named Xehanort, who was researching the workings of the heart. Almost all hearts have light and darkness within them, and usually the heart has a balance of them, or a little more of one than the other. When the darkness within a person's heart consumes him or her, a Heartless is born and the darkness within them is given form. That's what they are, creatures made of pure darkness from the hearts of all living things."

"Wait, hearts?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "But, that's impossible! How can the organ used for pumping blood throughout the body possibly have 'light' or 'darkness' inside of it? It just doesn't make any sense."

"We're not talking about that heart," Sora told her. "What we're talking about is the spiritual heart. Every living, sentient thing has a heart, a body, and a soul. When the heart is overcome with darkness, it becomes a Heartless."

"They're mindless and instinctual," Kairi added. "They only have one goal, and that's to find hearts and consume them, turning them into more Heartless. Ultimately they hunger for the largest and most powerful hearts, and are always trying to find a way to get it."

"You talk as if you know what that is," Princess Celestia said. The three nodded.

"Kingdom Hearts," they said together. "The heart of hearts; the heart of all worlds."

"It's just as powerful as you'd think," Riku said. "The heart of all hearts, filled with light, and the Heartless and those who chase power are always after it."

Princess Celestia nodded her head slowly. "I think that I already know the answer to this next question from your answers, but I need to make absolutely sure, how do you three know so much about these Heartless?"

"We fight them," Kairi declared, fierce pride in her voice, as if daring Princess Celestia to contradict her.

"Then you are not the enemies we had thought you might be," the princess said with relief. "Here, let me unlock this cell for you."

Sora smiled and shook his head. "There's no need for that," he told her.

"What do you mean?" Princess Luna asked.

"Are yah trying to say that y'all actually like it in there?" Applejack wondered.

Sora just laughed. "No, but you wanted to know about these…ugh, cutie marks, right?" A bright flash of light appeared at his mouth, and suddenly his teeth were clenching an obsidian weapon that was almost as long as his body. He enjoyed the looks of surprise on their faces at the Oblivion Keyblade's appearance in his mouth, but he sighed. Here was another form where he had to hold the Keyblade with his teeth; his neck was going to kill him for this. Striding up to the cell door, he tapped the backside of the lock with the tip of the Oblivion. The lock clicked open, and he nudged the door open with his snout. He did not exit, though.

The Oblivion disappeared from his mouth in another flash of light, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi all laughed at the stunned looks on the faces of the ponies in front of them. "That's the Keyblade," Riku explained. "It chooses its wielder, and can lock or unlock any lock and is able to unlock the power sleeping within its wielder's heart. The Heartless fear the Keyblade, because it's the only thing with the power to destroy them completely, so they swarm its wielders to eliminate their fear and steal the heart of its chosen. A Keyblade only chooses wielders with strong hearts, and Kairi, Rei, and I have Keyblades as well."

"My, my, my," Rarity said. "You're full of surprises aren't you, Riku?"

Princess Celestia appeared more stunned than impressed as she just stared at Sora. "That means that with the Keyblade, you could have unlocked the door and left anytime you liked, and you probably would have defeated my guards before they could react, too."

"Well, yeah," Kairi answered, smiling to herself, "but it's not like we really would have. Sure we were annoyed and all, but we wouldn't have busted out unless we were convinced that we were locked up in a bad guy's dungeon, and none of you seem like bad guys."

"We sure aren't," Applejack said, "but now Ah have just one question for y'all."

"Shoot."

"Ah couldn't help but notice that y'all have been using a lot of words we're a little unfamiliar with. Where yah from?"

The trio looked at each other. "Do we break world order again?" Kairi asked.

"We got turned into ponies; I don't care anymore Kairi," Riku deadpanned.

"It's not like it really matters either," Sora said. "No matter what King Triton said that one time, too much stuff's been happening to try and keep it a secret."

"You're right," Kairi said, nodding. The three turned to the gathering in front of them.

"To answer your question…Applejack, right?" Sora asked. The orange earth pony nodded her head, and he continued. "To answer your question, Riku and I are from Destiny Islands, Kairi's the lost princess of Radiant Garden, and Jiminy is from Land of Wishes; but Jiminy's been living in Disney Castle for the last while and Kairi's been with Riku and me on Destiny Islands since she was five."

"Destiny Islands? Radiant Garden? Disney Castle?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm sorry, but I've never heard of places like that in Equestria."

"That's because they aren't from Equestria," Princess Celestia said as the realization came to her. Coltinster had been right all along. "They're from other worlds outside."

"So they're space ponies?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "Ooh, that's even more wonderful than them being humans!"

"Nope, we're human," Sora apologized, "but we got turned into ponies when that portal dumped us here in Equestria."

"Yes, the portal," Twilight Sparkle said, shaking her head back and forth as if trying to sort out one of the thousand questions she probably had. "How were you able to work it?"

Sora smiled sheepishly. "That's just it, we didn't. The portal bringing us here was an accident." Kairi sighed.

"We were fighting an enemy of ours, and an old rival of our friend King Mickey, when he pulled out a device that had been stolen from a scientist we're acquainted with," she said. "It was Professor Ludwig Von Drake's Snazzy Portalmatic Muffin Maker 3000. Mortimer zapped us with the portal part of the device, and the next thing we knew we woke up here, like this."

Rarity rushed through the open door up to Kairi and took a pink hoof of Kairi's into two of her white ones. "Oh, you poor dear," she said. "You must be absolutely horrified."

Kairi smiled amusedly. "Why would I be? We're in a world of ponies."

"Because just look at your chapeau," the unicorn replied. "Oh dear, that raspberry…thing on your head just clashes awfully with your wonderful scarlet mane."

Kairi frowned. "Are you insulting my hat?"

"Come, come now dear, I have just the thing that will really highlight those eyes of yours and go with your mane back in my shop in Ponyville. There's no need for a fashion disaster like that hideous beret to be on top of your head."

Kairi smacked Rarity's hoof away. "You aren't touching my hat," she said evenly. "It's a symbol of my individuality and artist's soul."

_That and Naminé would have a conniption if she got rid of it,_ Roxas chuckled. _It's more her hat than Kairi's._

"Bu—but, you're completely lacking in fabulosity," Rarity said. "Why, a beautiful pegasus like yourself should be showing off her beauty in every way, not dousing it with a ridiculous hat like that. Why would you ever wear something so tacky?"

Kairi just smiled sweetly and turned to look coyly at Sora. "Sora, would you mind showing Rarity why I wear this hat?"

_Don't do it man!_

_Suck it up you baby, I'm doing it anyway._

_Whipped._

_So are you._

Sora just smiled at Roxas' silence, and took a step towards Kairi. _"And that's when I saw her. Ooh, I saw her; she walked in through the 'out' door, 'out' door."_

"Tell me he didn't just break into song," Twilight grumbled.

"He did," Riku laughed. Pinkie Pie beamed as Sora continued unabated.

"_She wore a raspberry beret,_

_The kind you find in a second-hand store._

_Raspberry beret._

_And if it was warm, she wouldn't wear much more._

_Raspberry beret,"_ he nuzzled his cheek against Kairi's. _"I think I looove her."_

"So those two are coltfriend and marefriend?" Applejack asked, looking to Riku for answers.

"We humans call them boyfriend and girlfriend, but yes."

Rarity gulped. "Well, I guess that if your coltfriend adores it, then I really can't say much against it, much though it does not go with your mane at all, darling."

Kairi laughed. "Don't worry. I know raspberry doesn't go too well with my hair, but I like it, and it goes much better with white-blonde so there's no way Naminé would let me get rid of it even if I wanted to."

"Naminé?" Twilight asked. "Who's Naminé?"

"My Nobody," Kairi answered simply.

"What's a Nopony?" Pinkie asked. Her question wasn't answered right away, since a small groan now issued out of the youngest pony present. Sora craned his neck down next to where Rei was lying down.

"Hey Rei, you feeling okay now?"

Her eyes stayed closed as she opened her mouth. "I had the best dream ever, Sora-nii-chan. We were hit by the portal machine and when we woke up Riku and I were unicorns and you and Kairi were pegasuses, and there were ponies everywhere."

"Heh, you're not dreaming squirt," Rainbow Dash said. "And it's pronounced 'pegasi'."

Rei's eyes flew open and she bounded onto her hooves. A huge smile took up her face. "It's real! It's really real!"

"Hey Sora, why is yer little sis all excited and all? Don't yah have ponies where yer from?"

"We do," Kairi answered instead of Sora, "but—"

Princess Celestia giggled audibly, shutting out Kairi's impending explanation. "Now that this bright little filly's awake again, I think this 'interrogation' is through. Come with me, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Rei, Jiminy. As enemies of the Heartless, I imagine you'd like to know about their presence here in Equestria, and you'd like to be out of this dinky old cell now that I count you as allies."

"Well, that _would_ be nice," Sora said.

"Princess, are you sure about this?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "I mean, we've only just met them. What do we really know about them?"

"My dear Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia replied patiently, "what did you really know about your friends when you went to find the Elements of Harmony in the Everfree Forest?" Twilight's silence spoke more than enough for Sora to be comforted that the unicorn would tentatively trust them. In the short time since they'd met, he'd already decided that he trusted these ponies. None of them seemed evil or malicious in any way, and even though he had been confined it was only because they'd been taking precautions in turbulent times.

"Come along my little ponies," Princess Celestia said, motioning with her head. "Let's go and talk in a more pleasant location."

"Ooh! Now I can throw all of you a 'Getting-out-of-jail-on-good-behaviour-so-you-can-kick-flank-and-save-the-day' party!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Princess Celestia, can we use the ballroom?"

The Sun Princess glanced at her sister. "What do you think Luna? Should we host a party for our new friends here?"

"I don't see why not," Luna answered, "so long as it does not get too loud as to wake me from my sleep." Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement and galloped off so quickly that a Pinkie Pie shaped dust cloud was left behind. "If you'll forgive me, Celestia," Luna continued, "I really should be getting to bed now. Please, do let me know when it is time to raise the moon."

"As always, my sister," Princess Celestia said. "You've done well last night and today. You've earned your rest."

"I'll rest easy, knowing that everything is in good hooves," the midnight mare replied. She turned to the new arrivals. "It was nice meeting you, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Jiminy, Rei. If there is anything you should require, do not hesitate to ask my sister or I." Princess Luna left then at a quick trot.

Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed with magenta light again, and she opened the cell door further and held it there with her magic. "Well, come on everypony. Let's get going then." Riku, Kairi, and Rarity all walked out of the cell while Sora stayed and waited for Rei. She had frozen up again, but this time it didn't seem like she'd been paralyzed from over-excitement.

"Rei, what is it?" he asked quietly.

"Onii-chan," she said, staring at Twilight Sparkle. "She's one of them."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all stopped and turned to look at the lavender unicorn. Twilight Sparkle looked at them strangely.

"One of what?" asked Spike the dragon, revealing at last that he could talk just as well as any of the ponies. "What's Twilight one of?"

Sora sighed and lowered his head. He pushed Rei slightly with a hoof to get her going. "We really do have to talk then. Lead the way Princess Celestia." She nodded her regal head in acknowledgement, and slowly the procession left the dungeons of Canterlot.

_I only hope Twilight will take this as well as Zelda did,_ Sora thought, glancing over his shoulder.

-G-M-

_And apparently I've still got it. 12 000 words written for a single chapter in little over three days. Shadow Horizons, I'm sorry that I haven't worked on **Annals of Darkness** in this time. I really need to get past that King Mickey fighting the hordes of Heartless block in order to get into the meat of that battle. Perhaps I should just listen to "The Encounter" on repeat._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	4. Wielders and Keepers

_To Anonymous, since I can't reply in the usual way, yes I am referencing things that you guys don't know about. I've started this fic at the beginning as far as MLP:FiM is concerned, but in the early middle as far as Kingdom Hearts is concerned. You're going to be stuck learning about the past as we continue on in the present. The crew will still be visiting Equestria in AoD (**SPOILER ALERT**), but I came up with a different story idea as well so that I could write with ponies sooner. Also, yeah, totally different continuity than AoD._

_Thank you._

_Also. Oops. I posted the wrong chapter earlier today. Here's the **correct** Chapter 3._

_Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and My Little Pony are owned by Square-Enix, Disney, and Hasbro, not me._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 3: Wielders and Keepers

Twilight Sparkle was silent as the group walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle up from the dungeons. Her mind was abuzz with more questions than she could count, and she wasn't entirely sure who she should direct them to. Everything these ponies had said seemed so outrageous that it couldn't be possible, but the way they had said it all just made her want to believe that it was all true. Besides, those shadows that Sora had called Heartless _had_ been real, so it was quite possible that what he said was just as real.

_And what Rei said, that I'm one of 'them'. What is that about? What does she mean, 'them'?_ Directing her attention towards the unicorn filly, she saw that Rei was occupied with asking Spike the latest in a string of questions.

"Can you breathe fire?"

"Well, yes," Spike answered proudly, glad to see that somepony was excited to talk to a dragon. "Want to see?" Rei nodded her head eagerly, and Spike took a deep breath before exhaling. A tongue of green fire, only as long as the baby dragon's body, leapt from his mouth. Rei's face lit up in excitement.

"Sora-nii-chan!" she shouted. "Look! He can breathe green fire! _Green_!" He laughed.

"Green, huh?" he asked. "I wonder how Mushu will react to a dragon that breathes green fire." Rainbow Dash leaned close to Twilight.

"What does that mean anyway?" she asked.

"What does what mean Rainbow?"

"That…nii-chan thing that she says." Twilight shook her head.

"I have no idea Rainbow Dash," she answered truthfully. "There are a lot of things that they've said that I don't quite understand."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "You're telling me. Still, that Keyblade thing was pretty cool."

"Onii-chan means 'big brother'," Rei said suddenly, turning around and walking backwards. "So that's what I call Sora-nii-chan, big brother Sora."

Sora turned his head around from where he walked close to the front with Kairi and Princess Celestia. On his face was a weary smile. "And I'm the only one she uses honourifics for. Doesn't call Kairi 'Kairi-chan' or Riku 'Riku-kun' or Riku-san, or nee-san or nii-san, just me." He sighed. "Sometimes I regret showing her that anime channel." His marefriend giggled slightly to herself.

"So, Riku, you wouldn't happen to have a marefriend, would you?" Rarity asked from behind Twilight, the marshmallow-white unicorn walking next to the turquoise one.

"No," he replied flatly, "and I'm not looking."

Twilight tuned out Rarity in the back and turned her attention back at the filly. Rei was still walking backwards with a warm smile on her face, and she was staring up at Twilight. "What is it?" she asked. "Do I have something on my face?" Rei shook her head.

"No, I just still can't believe that I'm here," she answered cheerily. "This place is like a dream."

"And why's that lil' missy?" Applejack asked, amused. "You don't have ponies where you and Sora are from?"

Rei shook her head. "No, we do, it's just that there aren't a lot of them, they don't talk, none are unicorns or pegasuses—I mean pegasi—and none of them have candy-coloured coats like you guys do."

"Hm, sounds pretty lame to me," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"But, if there are so few ponies," Fluttershy asked in genuine concern, "what about all of the animals?"

Twilight could see Rei looking at the pink-maned pegasus in confusion. "What about them?"

"How do they survive? Who looks after them? It must be such hard work for so few ponies to take care of them all."

Riku appeared to have been listening in from behind them, answering with, "They look after themselves?" as if it were obvious.

Neither Twilight nor her friends could withhold gasps. All six of them stopped in their tracks and stared at the four other ponies, all gathering around each other and gazing at Twilight's group with perplexed expressions. "What?" Riku asked.

"They take care of themselves?" Spike asked. "But—but that's not right!"

"Their world must be like the Everfree Forest," Rainbow Dash said, chewing slightly on her hooves, "and we all know how creepy that place is. It just doesn't work the same as Equestria."

The four human-turned ponies looked at one another. "Everfree Forest?" Sora asked.

Twilight began to explain, although she was now suddenly wary of them again. Animals looking after themselves, and without anypony lifting a hoof to help? She wasn't the best with animals, not like Fluttershy or even Applejack, but even Twilight knew how important it was to look after Equestria's wildlife. "The Everfree Forest is a place where—"

"Here we are," Princess Celestia cut her off, opening a door with her magic. "Come on in everypony. We can talk here in more comfort than those dank dungeons."

"Uh, Princess," Applejack pointed out, "this here's the infirmary."

"You're right Applejack, it is," Celestia said. "I recall that you and Captain Cloudhammer came across a pony being attacked by the Heartless, correct? I think that she would like to know exactly what those creatures that attacked her were when she wakes up."

"You do have a point, Princess," Rarity agreed. "I know that if that had been me, I would have liked to know myself."

"Yeah, same here," added Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia nodded and all of them filed into the room. A light grey unicorn stallion in a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck and salt and pepper mane was examining Trixie as she lay on one of the beds. He turned around at the sound of their entrance and smiled slightly.

"Ah, good afternoon Princess Celestia," he said. "What brings you here?"

"Good afternoon Doctor Checkup," the Princess greeted. "How fares our little pony?"

"She's doing quite well, considering," he answered, his smile not leaving his face. "Only a few scrapes and bumps, and it looks like she pulled a muscle in her front left cannon, but beyond that it's a textbook case of magical exhaustion. However…" he sighed, and this time the smile did slip from his face. "She also appears to be suffering from dehydration and the first effects of prolonged malnutrition. Look at how tight her skin is to her ribcage. She's lost quite a bit of fat and muscle tissue."

"So what are you saying doctor?" Twilight asked. "Is Trixie going to be alright?" She turned her violet eyes onto Trixie and couldn't help but feel pity for her. What could have happened to the proud mare after she'd left Ponyville that could end up leaving her on the ropes like this? Even Rainbow Dash and Rarity were looking at one another in concern.

"She should be fine Miss Sparkle," Doctor Checkup told her, "but I recommend that she gets plenty of rest, water, and nutritious meals for the next week, and be confined to this bed for the rest of the day when she wakes up. Don't let her overeat though. Suddenly gorging herself after living off what looks to be minimal food could upset her system just as much as not eating would."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Thank you Doctor Checkup. We'll make sure that your recommendation is followed. Would you be a dear and go down to the kitchens? I'm sure that our friend here would love some black bean and carrot soup and a fresh loaf of bread when she wakes; and get some food yourself. I know that you've been worrying yourself since Luna brought young Starshine and Moondancer in last night."

Checkup smiled and nodded his head. "As you wish, Your Highness. I'll be sure to send some up." As he trotted away, Rei slowly walked up to the bed in which Trixie was lying asleep. Twilight had to admit, Trixie didn't look anywhere near as haughty while she was sleeping.

"Onii-chan," the little filly said quietly, her eyes still on Trixie's face, "she's another one of them."

"What? Two of them?" Riku asked, stunned. Rainbow Dash hovered above him and turned him around. Circles of aquamarine stared into frustrated, brilliant, rose.

"Two of WHAT?" Rainbow Dash countered. "What is going on here?"

"I'd like to know that too," Twilight said, glancing at each of the Keyblade ponies. "What did Rei mean when she said that I was one of them? I'm one of what? What's this about?" She looked to Princess Celestia, but her mentor didn't say a word and only watched.

Sora sighed. "I think it's time we told you our story."

Twilight and the others listened patiently as mostly Sora, Riku, and Kairi told them about how they'd lived on tropical islands in peace for years, with Riku feeling trapped and confined, struck by wanderlust to go out and explore other worlds, and how in his need he opened the door to the heart of their world and accidentally let the Heartless in to destroy it. They listened to Sora's tale of how he'd adventured across numerous worlds with two people named Donald and Goofy, trying to find both Riku and Kairi while they searched for their king, and of how Riku fell in with a witch named Maleficent and betrayed Sora because of his jealousy and their rivalry over Kairi's affections. Kairi's tale of how her heart had come to rest within Sora's to keep it safe had them hanging on to every word, and she explained that she was one of seven 'Princesses of Heart', maidens with pure hearts of light who when brought together were the key to opening the door to darkness, beyond which lay Kingdom Hearts and the Realm of Darkness. Maleficent had used Riku to assist her in gathering the princesses, but they'd needed Kairi's heart to make their keyhole to the darkness complete, and it couldn't be completed or the keyhole sealed while her heart was within Sora's.

"Wait just a minute!" Rarity exclaimed. "You _stabbed_ yourself?"

Sora reared up onto his hind legs and pointed at a thin line in his chest. "Right there," he said solemnly. "When I stabbed myself with the Keyblade of Captive Hearts to unlock Kairi's heart, it came out and was returned to her, but it also caused my heart to fall into darkness."

"Right in front of my face," Kairi sighed. "Ansem then turned up and would have ended us, but Riku was able to regain control long enough for us to run. Ansem sent a bunch of Heartless after us, but Sora's Heartless turned out to be just a little Shadow that followed Donald, Goofy, and me all the way through Hollow Bastion. I knew it was him when it looked at me and refused to attack us."

"And I still need to pay Donald back for whacking me on the head with his staff," grumbled Sora.

Kairi had seen through to Sora, and when the other Heartless surrounded and jumped them she'd shielded him with her body, and the light in her heart took out the Heartless and brought Sora's heart back into the light. They'd all left Hollow Bastion and returned to Traverse Town for a short while, before Sora, Donald, and Goofy returned to Hollow Bastion to seal the keyhole and continue on to save Riku from Ansem. They ventured all the way to the End of the World, where they saw all that remained of the hundreds of worlds shattered and taken by the Heartless, before they found and confronted Ansem. In an epic battle, Sora and his friends emerged victorious in front of the Door to Darkness, but Ansem opened the door. To his dismay, Sora revealed that Kingdom Hearts wasn't everlasting, eternal darkness, but light, and the light of all the worlds destroyed Ansem. Behind the door to Kingdom Hearts lay the Realm of Darkness, where thousands upon thousands of Heartless gathered, prepared to leave the Realm of Darkness and invade the Realm of Light. They were able to shut the door, but it required Riku and King Mickey to stay behind in the Realm of Darkness in able to do it. Then, as all of the worlds whose hearts had been taken were restored, Sora remained behind to search for Riku while Kairi returned to the Islands to wait for them.

Spike was blowing his nose on a tissue Rarity levitated to him, and Twilight rubbed her eyes with a hoof, feeling them getting a bit misty too. Trixie's soup had arrived even though the unicorn showed no signs of waking yet, and Twilight admitted privately that she was getting a little hungry too; but the story wasn't over though, and the five little ponies, Princess Celestia, and Spike continued to listen as Sora and Riku each explained about how they both came upon Castle Oblivion and their exploits within, Riku trying to master the darkness still within him in the form of Ansem, and Sora dealing with his ever-changing memories at the manipulation of a girl named Naminé.

"Naminé?" Spike asked. "Wait, didn't you mention her before, Kairi."

She nodded her head. "I did. Naminé is my Nobody. Roxas is Sora's Nobody, and all of the people in black cloaks that Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and King Mickey were meeting were Nobodies."

"Then, what is a Nobody?" Celestia asked.

"If a Heartless is the heart consumed by darkness, the Nobody is the body and soul left behind by a strong heart," Riku answered. "Because all Nobodies are born from strong hearts, even the most basic Nobodies are stronger than about half of the Heartless varieties we've come across, and the more powerful the Nobody the more they look like what they were in life."

"There were once a group of thirteen powerful Nobodies led by one called Xemnas," Sora explained. "They called themselves Organization XIII, and their goal was to collect hearts with the Keyblade in order to make their own Kingdom Hearts, and use its power to make themselves whole again."

"Well, that sounds reasonable," Fluttershy said. "I mean, if I didn't have a heart, I'd want mine back too."

"You'd think it sounds reasonable," Sora sighed, "but the thing is that without a heart, Nobodies aren't able to feel emotion. The end completely justifies the means when they have no ethics holding them back. Their thirteenth member was Roxas, my Nobody, and because he was a part of me he could use the Keyblade, so they unleashed Heartless into the worlds for Roxas to defeat and collect hearts, not caring about anyone they hurt in the process. Once Riku, DiZ, and Naminé fixed up my memories and forced Roxas to merge back with me, the Organization continued by using me to gather hearts for them, and they also kidnapped Kairi to ensure my obedience."

"Despicable," growled Rarity.

"Preaching to the choir there, Rarity," Kairi agreed. "The only nice ones from what I've heard from Naminé and Roxas were Axel and Demyx, while the others could be nice when they tried. Saïx," she spat his name like it was poison, "certainly wasn't that nice to me."

"How can you have heard from these two?" Twilight asked before Rainbow Dash could ask the same question. "I thought that at the end of this story you would have beaten Xemnas and the rest of the Organization, rescued Kairi, been reunited with all of your friends, and returned home? And since you're here, you're obviously whole, so Roxas and Naminé shouldn't exist at all, right?" Her friends all looked at Twilight and she flattened her ears sheepishly. "Well, that is the logical conclusion."

"And it's almost right," Rei exclaimed. "Sora-nii-chan did beat the Organization and come home with Kairi and Riku and the others, but because Roxas-nii-chan and Naminé merged with Sora-nii-chan and Kairi, they aren't gone and live instead inside of them."

"Huh?"

The three older ponies laughed. "We've got them living inside of us," Sora explained, pointing a hoof at his chest. "We can talk to them telepathically and when Kairi and I are in close proximity they can talk to each other. We essentially have real alter-egos, and with a little effort Kairi and I can switch with Roxas and Naminé, and they'll appear on the outside and have control of our bodies. We've been able to figure out so far that Roxas and Naminé have the ability to remain the dominant personality in control for as long as a week before they tire out and need to go back inside, but we've also learned that at any time Kairi or I can hijack their control and put them back."

"Interesting," Twilight said, rubbing her face with a hoof. "Do you think we could meet them?" Sora and Kairi glanced at one another, and then they bent their heads down and closed their eyes. A slight wind blew around them in the room, rustling their manes and coats of fur. From their hooves up their colours began changing. Sora's mahogany coat darkened into a dark grey colour, and his tail and mane shifted from their chocolate-brown into a golden-blonde. Kairi's light pink colouring softened until she was just as white as Rarity, her own mane and tail becoming a mix of white-blonde and platinum blonde. On Naminé's snow-white cannons were pink hoof bands, but the most startling change was that the wings Sora and Kairi each had vanished as their colours changed. A horn grew out of Roxas' head, while Naminé stood a resplendent earth pony, still wearing the raspberry beret Kairi had been wearing. Roxas' cutie mark was a pair of crossed Keyblades one white and beautiful and the other the black one Sora had used earlier, while Naminé's was of an artist's palette.

"Hey there," Roxas said, his cerulean eyes the exact same shade as Sora's.

"It's nice to meet you," Naminé added, bowing her head slightly. Twilight Sparkle just stared at them in awe while Riku started to snigger, and both Roxas and Naminé turned to look at him. "What is it, Riku?"

"He's a unicorn and you're an earth pony," he answered.

Naminé did not seem to be very amused. "Really? I'm an earth pony? I'm the most magical one in this group and I become an earth pony while the two who can barely use magic become unicorns? How does that make any sense?"

"Naminé, it makes perfect sense," Roxas answered her. She trained her indigo eyes onto him in complete skepticism. "Sora and Kairi are the most athletic of us, so they get wings and become pegasi, able to run and fly and do all sorts of cool tricks."

"Naturally," Rainbow Dash agreed, puffing her chest out proudly on behalf of all pegasi.

"Tell me how they're the most athletic when Riku's the one on the Maechen Manticores' Blitzball team and Sora and Kairi are only second-string for the Basch Justiciars' senior boys and girls teams?"

"Ever see me doing those crazy flips and acrobatics that they're always using?" Riku asked.

"Hmm," Naminé grumbled, "point taken."

"And remember what horns are?" Roxas asked her. "What do animals use their horns for?"

"Establishing male dominance and proclaiming their strength and ability for all eligible females and for rival males to take note of when searching for mates," Naminé supplied dryly.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "They're weapons Naminé, used for competing with each other and defending their mates and herds. Riku and I are the best swordsmen of the group—no, Sora, I'm still better than you—so it's only natural that we get them."

Spike looked up at Fluttershy. "Is that really what they're for?"

"I believe so," she said, "but I know that I've never seen any of my deer friends fighting one another over a doe before. When one of them takes an interest in a doe, they just go for a stroll in the meadow together, not compete with another male in a way they could get hurt."

"And you," Roxas said, "you, well…"

Naminé sighed. "I'm not the most athletic or very good with a sword. My art can be just as magic as my magical arts are, but I'm not physically strong."

"Well now that doesn't make very much sense at all, dear," Rarity said. "Most earth ponies are stronger physically than unicorns or pegasi."

"And while they can't actively use magic like us unicorns can," Twilight added, "they do have a stronger connection to the earth when it comes to growing things or taking care of animals than other ponies. But it does make some sense too; a lot of earth ponies have a variety of talents besides looking after the land or animals. Pinkie Pie's a real party pony, and both she and the Cakes are pastry chefs. I don't think any of them are anywhere near as strong as Applejack."

"Aw, shucks Twi, yer making me blush."

The colouring of the Roxas and Naminé started to revert as Sora and Kairi reasserted control. "Well, that was short-lived," Roxas said dryly.

"It was nice seeing you all personally!" Naminé added.

"I do see why Kairi keeps that beret though," Rarity called. "It looks lovely on you Naminé!"

"Thank you!" Naminé answered just before her head became light pink once again.

Sora shook his head, now fully in control once again. He looked at Riku. "I'm surprised you didn't try to head-butt Roxas."

"Meh, he had a horn too. Would've taken us hours for me to get the better of him."

"He says that he agrees, except you'd be the loser."

"When we have a free day, he can come at me and prove it himself."

Rarity sidled up to Twilight and began whispering in her ear. "Now that's something I wouldn't mind watching," she said. Twilight sighed.

"So, you guys got back home," she said. "What happened then?"

Kairi answered. "King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Jiminy all went back to Disney Castle, and we returned home to our daily lives. Rei was really excited to see Sora back, and all of us were grounded for two weeks. School started up again, we got a letter from King Mickey thanking us for all of our hard work and sacrifice, and time passed peacefully. However, we knew that we certainly hadn't seen the end of it, and I had just gotten my own Keyblade and wasn't that good with it, so Sora and Riku trained me both in swordplay and magic."

"We could notice her getting better and stronger every week," Sora said proudly. "In five months, Kairi was almost on par when it came to fighting with her Keyblade to me and Riku, and she'd already surpassed me in her ability to use magic. We started dating six months after we got back to the islands—"

"About fricking time too," Riku muttered.

"—and while her dad wasn't the most supportive of us training her to fight after he found out, he did understand the need for it and both of our feelings in the matter. Kairi didn't want to be a damsel in distress anymore and help me and Riku out without being a burden, and more than anything I wanted to make sure she was safe, so keeping her close but able to stand on her own two feet were the best things to do," Sora continued, smiling at his marefriend.

"That was almost seven months ago," Kairi said. "We kept on training and doing schoolwork, hanging out and having fun, but then, just over a month ago, something happened that told us our peacetime was over." She looked at Rei.

The filly gulped and looked at Twilight Sparkle. She glanced once to Princess Celestia, and then to her older brother. He nodded, and Rei turned back to Twilight. Apprehension filled every limb in Twilight's body. Now she would learn just what it was that Rei had mentioned. Rei opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get more than two words out a groan from the bed interrupted her.

-G-M-

Trixie opened her eyes slowly, seeing everything in a fuzzy haze while consciousness returned to her. Dull pain wracked her body, and she felt incredibly weary. Her stomach ached from its now chronic emptiness, and Trixie regretted having eaten that last cinnamon-coated pinecone as a late-night snack instead of saving it for a time when she needed it, like right now.

She closed her eyes again, and remembered what had happened before she blacked out. Those shadows, what were they, and where was she for that matter? She couldn't have gotten rid of all of them, and even if she had, shouldn't she be lying on the road? This certainly felt like a bed beneath her back.

Trixie opened her eyes again. There was a white ceiling above her. "Where am I?" she asked aloud.

"Ah, so you're awake now."

That voice! There was only one pony in all of Equestria who had such a maternal and majestic voice like that. Trixie turned her head in a little bit of shock to see Princess Celestia herself standing beside her bed. "P-Princess!" she stammered. "To what does the Great and P—I mean, to what does the humble Trixie owe the pleasure?"

Sweat began beading on Trixie's face as the questions continued to assault her mind. Obviously she was now in Canterlot Castle with the princess here, but how did she get here, and why would Princess Celestia be here, waiting for her to wake up?

The Sun Princess' gentle voice touched her ears again. "You have no need to be afraid, Trixie," she said. She lowered a wing to softly brush against Trixie's face. "The castle is safe from the shadows that attacked you earlier. Please, be calm; you're among friends here."

Trixie felt herself calming down at the soft words Princess Celestia spoke. Her touch felt like a warm sunbeam, and Trixie let a small smile come to her face as some of her worries were swept away for the moment. "Thank you, but Princess Celestia," she had to ask, "how did Trixie get here?"

"You could thank us for that."

Trixie's eyes widened at the voice. She'd heard it before, but it had certainly belonged to one of the ponies that she had humiliated when she'd performed in Ponyville. Princess Celestia still smiled warmly and stepped aside, revealing several other ponies in the room, and Trixie could immediately recognize most of them as Ponyvillians. It was the blue pegasus who had spoken, and even though she sounded a little annoyed, she did look somewhat concerned.

"Are you alright, Trixie?" the lavender unicorn asked her. Trixie's eyes darted between the unicorn and Princess Celestia. Trixie had heard more about this particular mare and her friends since she'd left Ponyville. She was undoubtedly Twilight Sparkle, the Bearer of the Element of Magic of the six Elements of Harmony, a pony that had saved Equestria from eternal night and chaos along with her friends, _and_ was the personal protégé of the white alicorn standing beside Trixie's bed.

And Trixie had…

A small unicorn filly looked up at a brown pegasus stallion. "Sora-nii-chan, why is her face turning white?"

"Trixie, you don't have to be scared," Princess Celestia said in understanding, drawing the azure unicorn's attention back to her and away from the Ponyville ponies. "I have heard about you from my faithful student, and I want you to know that neither I nor Twilight harbour any ill feelings towards you."

Trixie blinked, and some of the colour returned to her face. "You…you don't hate Trixie for what she did?"

Twilight shook her head and smiled softly. "No Trixie. Although your boasting about things you never did was a bit much, nopony could have expected Snips and Snails to actually go and bring an Ursa Minor to town."

Rarity stomped a hoof on the floor. "You turned my mane _green_!"

Trixie bit her lip and lowered her head. "Yes, well, Trixie does feel a little foalish for her conduct in Ponyville."

Applejack huffed. "A little? Are you hearing this Twi?"

"Applejack," Twilight hissed.

"In fact, it was not only Ponyville that gazed upon the Great and Powerful Trixie as some of you did," Trixie admitted in a quiet voice. "Fillydelphia and Baltimare were…less kind to Trixie than the rustic Ponyville was."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Gee, why am I not surprised?"

Trixie shot the baby dragon a look. "If you must know, the Great and Powerful Trixie's feats of unparalleled magic show ended in Ponyville. The Ursa Minor showed Trixie that she was a fool to trumpet feats she had never accomplished; that sooner or later her she would get herself into situations too big for her if she continued, or turn ponies she couldn't best against her and possibly get herself hurt."

Princess Celestia nodded kindly. "It sounds like you learned an important lesson about friendship."

"Friendship?" Trixie laughed. "Princess, you give the Great and Powerful Trixie too much credit. Trixie only remembered to be honest and a bit more modest to other ponies."

"But honesty is an important part of friendship," Fluttershy said softly, coming closer towards Trixie and earning the unicorn's attention for the first time. "Why, if nopony was honest with anypony else, then the foundation of trust many friendships are built on couldn't exist."

"You must be Fluttershy, Bearer of the Element of Kindness." Trixie noted that the yellow pegasus took a half-step back at her blunt tone.

"Why, yes, I am. It's nice to actually meet you, Trixie, but I don't really think we should keep you talking very long. You just woke up after all, and I'm sure you're very hungry." Trixie's traitorous stomach growled loudly in agreement, and she defiantly raised her head, daring any of them to laugh.

Twilight's horn glowed with magenta light, and a bowl of soup flew towards Trixie's bedside. "Here," said Princess Celestia. "I had the doctor looking after you send this up from the kitchens. Eat up my little pony, and don't hesitate to ask for more when you've finished." A loaf of fresh bread was also levitated towards her, and Trixie felt a smile come to her face when she saw that none of them were now giving her looks of distrust.

"Thank you," she said, her horn now glowing with violet light as she grasped hold of the bowl of soup and spoon. "Trixie is…grateful for your kindness and understanding, Twilight Sparkle, but she…I must know. How did I get here? The last thing Trixie saw were those shadow things surrounding her."

"Princess Celestia summoned us to Canterlot and had one of the Pegasus Guard captains assigned to get us," Twilight Sparkle answered. "We saw a big flash of light below us and saw you surrounded by Heartless, so that's when Captain Cloudhammer and his team flew us down to your rescue."

Trixie paused in eating her soup to raise her eyebrow at Twilight. "Heartless?" she asked snidely. "Is that what we're calling those things?"

"It's what they are," spoke up one of the other ponies in the room, a brown pegasus with a wildly spiked chocolate mane, "and unfortunately, you and Twilight are going to be seeing a lot more of them."

"And you are?" Trixie asked.

"I'm Sora," he replied, "and this is Kairi, Riku, and Rei. We came to Equestria by accident, but we're here to deal with the Heartless, and we'd like you and Twilight to accompany us when we leave."

Trixie narrowed her eyes. "And why should the Great and Powerful Trixie go with you?"

For some reason, all the ponies looked at the little filly. She sighed, took a deep breath, and came closer to Trixie. Rei glanced at Sora, then Twilight, and finally settled her gaze on Trixie. "About a month ago, I had a dream," she said. "I was standing on a platform with a floor of stained glass in the middle of a dark place. Painted on it were me and my brother, and at first I didn't know why I was having this dream, but then a voice spoke to me. It told me that dark days were ahead, and that my brother would need my help to overcome them. The voice showed me flashes of people that would be the key. I can't really remember what they look like now, but I know that I know who they are, and the voice told me to gather them, the Keepers of the Art."

"Keepers of the Art?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well what in the hay are they supposed to be?" Applejack wondered, glancing around.

Princess Celestia, however, gasped and leaned towards Rei. "Are you sure? Are you sure you were told to gather the Keepers?" Rei nodded, apparently surprised at the sudden earnest of the alicorn.

"Princess Celestia, what is it? What are the Keepers of the Art?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"And what do Twilight Sparkle and Trixie have to do with them?" Trixie asked. She took another sip of her soup, but she had to admit that the filly's tale was intriguing. Preposterous for all of this fuss because of a dream and a voice, but Celestia's reaction to it was no doubt intriguing.

The Sun Princess turned a steady eye on her pupil. "The Keepers of the Art are said in legend to be six beings, united together in mastery of the arcane art that we call magic. Together, they can perform feats of magic impossible for a single unicorn to do alone, or even a hundred combined. Luna and I together would even be dwarfed by their combined power."

"Really?" Trixie asked, the spoon dropping onto the white sheet and slowly beginning to stain it red. Princess Celestia nodded.

"Yes," she said, "and it is also said that together they can divine the location of any magical artifact and summon it, or at least clear a path towards it, in an instant. They also uphold the universe's flow of magic just by existing."

Kairi nodded her head. "Yeah. Master Yen Sid said about the same thing to us. He also told us that new Guardians are born whenever the others eventually die, but that if all six were to be killed at once then the Realms of both Light and Darkness would be thrown into total chaos as magic went haywire without anyone to uphold it."

"Soon after Rei had the dream, Heartless appeared on the Islands and tried to take her," Sora said. "But we were able to fight them off, and Rei got a Keyblade during the fighting. I…I honestly didn't want to believe that she was the only one who knew who the Guardians were; that my little sister was to be my key to connecting everything, but she is. Thanks to her we've already found one of them, and now you and Trixie bring our count up to three, Twilight."

"You said, 'Guardians' just now," Trixie said. "I thought that they were called 'Keepers'."

Sora smiled sheepishly. "Well, technically, yes. But, Keepers of the Art just doesn't sound as cool or easy to understand as Guardians of Magic does, because that's essentially what they are."

"So Sora's taken to calling them the Guardians of Magic," Riku clarified.

"You hear that Twilight," the baby dragon said. "You're a Guardian of Magic! How cool is that?"

"But what makes you so sure that Trixie is one of them?" Trixie demanded before anypony else could speak. "Tell me you have more to go on than a filly's dreams! It is true that Trixie's talent is magic, but she has not the power of Twilight Sparkle or the princesses. Trixie cannot defeat an Ursa Major, or even an Ursa Minor, and has never channelled the magic of the universe before. Though Trixie has good mastery and understanding of magic, all she has for tricks are minor conjurations and illusions, though she has—"

A flash of light silenced Trixie as her voice continued to drop. In front of the mare hovered something that she had never truly seen before, but thought she glimpsed before fading into unconsciousness earlier.

"There was only one other thing that Master Yen Sid gave us to go off of when finding the Guardians besides Rei's half-remembered dream vision," Sora said. "Each of the Guardians has the potential to summon a Keyblade."

-G-M-

_So yes, Trixie has a Keyblade and Twilight will be getting one as well. The astute will note that this means that Zelda has one too._

_Please leave your feedback if you wish, and I hope you're all enjoying the story. :twilightsmile:_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	5. Murphy's Law

_Okay, some weatherpony in Cloudsdale's getting sent to the moon. It's snowing again in Edmonton. Well, it was, back when I first wrote this chapter_

_(Shire Folk holds up a wooden sign with the word 'Disclaimer' painted in black letters on it. Vicious wood-eating moth-bears descend upon the sign and devour it.)_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 4: Murphy's Law

Pinkie Pie's party was in full swing in the ballroom of Canterlot Castle. Riku had to admit that he had been impressed when he'd first laid eyes on all the decorations that were hung on every surface within the pillared room. Crystal bowls of punch sat on a table right next to an array of delicious desserts, and a gramophone (a _gramophone!_) was playing music. Pinkie had done a lot of work in a very short amount of time to get everything ready.

He had been impressed by all the confetti, streamers, and balloons that were decorating the ballroom, since it had only been an hour and a half since the party pony had left their group before they'd departed the dungeons. Riku's attitude, however, changed to terror when Rarity told him about Pinkie Pie's party cannon. The thought of a cannon that could almost instantly decorate a room into a kid's birthday party pad was both awe-inspiring and horrifying. If she could come up with something like that when she put her mind to it, what _else_ could the earth pony do?

Regardless, Riku relegated himself to official wallflower, standing on his hind legs and leaning against the back of a pillar while crossing his forehooves in front of his body, and watched the proceedings going on. He really hated being a pony right now; it ruined his pose. Sora was having a conversation with Rainbow Dash, and from what Riku was able to overhear he was telling her more about his adventures in greater detail. Kairi and Rei had both really gotten into the swing of things and Kairi was playing 'pin the tail on the pony' with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack; while Rei was having a ball playing with Spike and his pet phoenix hatchling, Peewee. Twilight Sparkle, unsurprisingly, was solemnly standing only a short distance away from Riku. She had appeared to half-heartedly take part in the celebrations for a while, but for the past ten minutes she had been as anti-social as he the entire party.

And Riku had a shrewd suspicion as to why.

Dropping onto all four hooves, he casually strolled over to the lavender unicorn. "Something on your mind?" he asked. Twilight glanced up at him in surprise for a moment before nodding her head.

"Yes, actually," she answered. "This is all just so much to absorb. I'm somepony who's supposed to uphold the flow of all magic in existence? Not only that, I'm also supposed to be a bearer of a magical weapon that can open up any lock and unlock the power dwelling in my heart? Do you realize how crazy all this sounds?" Riku chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I do," he answered amiably. "Welcome to the madness." Twilight put her knee close to her mouth, trying to cover up her giggle.

"Well, when Pinkie Pie's one of your friends, you get used to a bit of madness after a while," she said.

Riku nodded. "I noticed. She really has a party cannon?"

Twilight glanced at the object. "Yep, it's real. She also has this thing that she calls her 'Pinkie Sense'. Whenever her body spasms uncontrollably in a certain way, it means that something's about to happen. When her tail twitches, it means that something's going to fall; if her ears flop, eyes flutter, and then knees twitch, it means to beware of opening doors; whereas an ear flop, knee twitch, eye flutter means we're about to have a beautiful rainbow in the sky."

"Uh-huh." He hoped his skepticism was beyond heavily laced.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Twilight agreed, "but it's true. There's no logical way of understanding it, and I've tested and experimented on her but, whatever it is, she's got it." She pawed at the ground with a hoof and looked at her friends partying. "Riku, this Guardian thing means that I'll have to leave Equestria when you've taken care of the Heartless, doesn't it?"

He sighed a little. _No sense in sugar-coating it_. "Yes."

"Will I ever be coming back?"

"Most likely," he replied. "It might take a while, but I'm sure you'll be able to if you want to."

Twilight nodded her head, and then turned to face Riku directly. He turned his head slightly in response, his aqua eyes meeting her violet ones. "I understand that Rei had a dream that told all of you to go around gathering the Guardians of Magic, but what I don't know is why it appears to be so important. Why do you guys need me and Trixie? We've been living completely unaware of our importance to all of magic, and the ignorance hasn't bothered us before."

Riku answered carefully, his voice dropping into a lower register. "We're not the only ones who are looking."

Twilight took a step back, the severity of his voice scaring her. "Wha—what do you mean?"

"I mean that there's someone else who's also looking for the Keepers of the Arcane." Twilight's eyes went back and forth as her mind apparently figured out what he meant by that.

"I—I see," she answered. "So, either we go into danger, or we stay here and endanger ourselves and all of Equestria?" He could see the way that the lavender unicorn was shuddering at the thought.

Riku gave her a small smile and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he told her kindly. "You go into danger in good company."

"I'm not entirely sure of that yet," she answered, though he noticed that she did not take his hoof off her shoulder. "Uh, hey, do you think you could come with me for a bit? There are a few ponies in Canterlot I want to talk with about this, and it might be helpful if one of you were there with me to answer any questions I can't."

Riku removed his hoof from her shoulder and nodded his head. "Of course." He glanced over at the rest of the ponies. "I don't think they'll really miss us much if we sneak out." Twilight shook her head, and the two unicorns quietly made their way out of the ballroom. Two Unicorn Royal Guards stood outside of the room, and only watched silently as the pair made their way past them. "By the way," Riku asked, "what was with all those cracks on the pillars in there? I thought that the ballroom of this castle would be totally pristine?"

To his surprise, Twilight laughed. "That was _all_ the doing of my friends back there," she explained. The Grand Galloping Gala turned out to not be what we expected at all."

"Gala, huh?" Riku asked, turning his head to look back at the closed doors to the ballroom. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not," Twilight admitted. "It was both the worst, and best night ever."

"Aw, how bad could it really be?"

She looked at him. Riku wasn't entirely sure what the look in her eyes was trying to convey, but he felt like there was a mix between amusement and cynicism. "Fluttershy raged to the animals in the gardens, Rainbow Dash accidentally destroyed all those pillars and a stylized statue of Princess Celestia while trying to impress the Wonderbolts, Pinkie Pie annoyed the hay out of most of the other guests trying to get them to party because she doesn't know what a high society party is like, Applejack was insulted by Prince Blueblood after he'd eaten one of her pastries because it was 'common carnival food' and the apple cake she then made got splattered all over a pony, and Rarity was the pony that got the cake splattered on because Prince Blueblood is a total horse and no Prince Charming."

Riku couldn't help but laugh. "So what about you? What happened to the intrepid Twilight Sparkle that made the night so awful?"

She smiled. "I stayed next to Princess Celestia the whole night, and we were both stuck greeting guests the entire time with no time to talk to each other."

"Wow, that sucks," Riku noted.

"That is, until we were able to escape to the scene of the chaos, flee the Gala, and meet up at Donut Joe's with Spike for donuts. Talking to everypony else about how awful our nights were really helped. Then Princess Celestia came to join us and told us that, in her opinion, the Grand Galloping Gala is _always_ awful. She said she was glad that we would be attending because she had hoped we could liven things up a bit."

Riku glanced around with a smirk on his face, searching for the princess. He didn't dare say it out loud in front of the alicorn's faithful student, but he definitely came to the conclusion that Celestia was a troll or at the very least a lively prankster. "Well, going by your description, 'liven things up a bit' is quite the understatement. You six were sponsored party crashers." Twilight giggled.

"You know what, I think we were."

"A ballroom blitz," Riku added.

"I'm not really sure what you mean by that, but I guess so."

Riku snorted and rolled his eyes. "It's a song by a group called Sweet. You'll probably end up hearing it at some point while you're with us."

"I see," she answered. Riku contemplated countering for a moment with the correction of 'you'll hear', but decided against it. The pair exited the castle's interior and came into a courtyard with a path that would lead away from the castle and into Canterlot proper. Riku blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the mid-afternoon sun reflecting off of the many white spires and buildings of the city below the castle.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

Twilight blushed a little and looked away from him. "Just…my parents' house…"

-G-M-

"I knew it."

Sora turned away from his conversation with Rainbow Dash (after having just finished instructing her on the finer points of pirate accents) to find the owner of the nearby voice. An older pony was standing nearby, and looking at him with a somewhat smug mug. His coat and horn were mauve, his mane white and gold, and sparklingly intelligent eyes were observing Sora from over a bushy white beard. Sora almost took a step back. Ponies could have _beards_?

This world had achieved a new level of awesome to infuse its cuteness smoothie with.

"Knew what?" he asked.

"Uh, mind filling us in on who you are old timer?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We were kinda in the middle of a conversation here."

"Hm…" the old unicorn replied, peering at Sora's side. It took the Keyblade Master a second to realize that he was looking at his (blech) _cutie mark_. "So," he began again with surprising energy, "how is that young rascal Yen Sid doing? Still getting into loads of mischief? I wouldn't be surprised."

Sora felt his jaw drop rather than do it consciously. _How in the…?_ Roxas spluttered inside his mind. _This guy knows Master Yen Sid! HOW DOES HE—?_

"B-buh…wha?" Sora questioned incoherently. His ears had to be malfunctioning, or he was having a heart attack; he wasn't sure which just yet. He thought he'd just heard this unicorn call Master Yen Sid a young rascal. Sora shook his head and punched his jaw back into its proper place with a hoof. "I'm sorry. There must be wax in my ears, because I thought I heard you say that you know Master Yen Sid."

The unicorn smiled mischievously at him. "Of course I know him. He apprenticed under me."

_And now our jaws have been dislocated._

"K-K-K-KAIRI!"

The pink pegasus jumped ten feet in the air at the abruptness of Sora's shout and the Oathkeeper appeared in her mouth reflexively. "What ish it, Shora?" she asked when back on the floor again.

Sora whirled around to face her, and pointed a hoof at the elder unicorn. "This pony taught Master Yen Sid!" The Oathkeeper disappeared from Kairi's mouth and she yelped in surprise. A short gallop later, she was right beside Sora and staring at the unicorn in awe.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Coltinster, Headmaster of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," he answered. Coltinster bowed in front of them, startling both pegasi for a moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Wielders of the Keyblade. I must say, I haven't seen one of your kind since the fall of Myth Drannor."

"Say what?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You know about the Keyblade thingy these guys have?"

"Of course," Coltinster answered. "If you think I haven't seen many things in my fifty winters, then you're even younger than that filly over there."

Sora and Kairi glanced at one another. Sora frowned. "Did you say, 'fifty winters'? Master Yen Sid really looks a lot older than that."

"Hm…really? I thought he would only be around thirty by now."

Sora, Kairi, and Rainbow Dash all glanced at one another. "Are you _sure_ you're fifty?" the blue pegasus of the trio asked.

"Give or take a few years," Coltinster answered, "but enough about me. If you'd like to know more, just mention 'Shadowdale' to Yen Sid. Now, what are _your_ names?" he asked, looking specifically at Sora and Kairi as he said it.

"I'm Sora, this is Kairi, and the filly over there is my little sister, Rei."

"I take it that you were all human before you arrived here," Coltinster remarked. Sora noted that the way he said it made it much more a statement than a question. When he cocked his head to the side inquiringly, Coltinster continued. "If you had been something different, it's likely that Equestria itself might have allowed you to keep your form. No matter, no matter, so you're pegasi now, hmm? How does it feel to be unable to use magic?"

Kairi's eyes widened. "We can't use magic?"

"Of course not! Only unicorns and alicorns can actually _use_ magic in Equestria. The magic of pegasi and earth ponies are simply inherent abilities, such as the ability of pegasi to move clouds and create weather effects, or an earth pony's connection to the earth that helps crops grow faster and ripen quicker."

"We can't use magic!" Kairi repeated. Sora could practically feel her panic setting in as she raised a hoof in front of her face. "Fire!"

No fireball began to crackle merrily above her hoof.

"Blizzard!"

Still nothing.

"Thunder! Water! Aero! Sing now the hymn of the phoenix, the eternal fires of heaven and—OW! Sora! What was that for?"

Sora snorted impatiently and lowered his hoof after whacking his girlfriend on the back of the head with it. "Kairi, if not even our simplest spells are working, what makes you think that _Skyfyre_ would work?"

Kairi continued rubbing the back of her head and pouted. "I'm sorry, but I was panicking. You know how much I use both magic and the Keyblade when fighting."

Sora sighed. "Well, at least we know this now and didn't discover it in a fight." The words had hardly left his mouth before he started wanting to kick himself. He could feel Roxas mentally doing the same.

_Could you be _any_ dumber?_

"Open mouth, insert foot. Open mouth, insert foot. Open mouth, insert foot," he grumbled to himself. A few seconds passed and Sora looked up and around. Heartless had yet to appear. All was still well. "Woo-hoo! And Murphy's Law has been disproven."

_And…_ Roxas drawled in anticipation, _wait for it…Heartless!_ Sora glanced around. There was still no sign of the denizens of darkness. _Huh, I guess you really did disprove Murphy's Law._

"Sora-nii-chan?"

He looked down at Rei as she trotted towards him. "What is it Rei?"

"Um, well, do you think I could go visit Trixie?" she asked. "I think she might be a little lonely, being all by herself in the hospital part of the castle while the rest of us are here." Sora smiled at her and rubbed her blonde mane with a hoof. Rei shied away slightly at the gesture, but laughed through it all the same.

"Go ahead," he agreed. "I think she might like that."

Rei beamed. "Thank you onii-chan!" Rainbow Dash snorted as the filly galloped off.

"Obviously you don't know The Great and Powerful Trixie," she disagreed. "I doubt she'd really be happy to see a little filly right now."

"You don't know that Rainbow Dash," Kairi told the other pegasus. "Besides, wasn't she a performer? Wouldn't she like having the attention of a kid?"

Applejack came over to their group. "Ah don't know Kairi," she said. "Trixie wasn't too fond of Snips and Snails being her adoring fans."

Coltinster began stroking his beard with a hoof. "Pardon my asking," he broke in again, "but what brings Keyblade Wielders to Equestria."

"We're gathering the Guardians of Magic," Sora answered simply, "but you might know them as the Keepers of the Arcane." Coltinster's eyes widened. The pony's face suddenly dropped into a serious expression.

"For what reason?" His voice was flat, but his eyes burned. He advanced slowly when Sora and Kairi did not immediately answer, and his voice rose just as slowly as his steps; the tone grew out of deadpan towards borderline malice. "I hope it isn't for using them in order to locate or summon powerful artefacts of magic from days long past that are better left forgotten, or to clear out the sacred halls of those long dead to plunder their secrets or wage war on the heavens and gods themselves, because if it is, I'll have to take measures to insure the safety of my former student."

Not once had he shouted, but Sora was almost quivering beneath those smouldering eyes as if the old pony had been bellowing loudly enough to put him into a coma. _C'mon Sora,_ he pep-talked to himself, _pull it together! You've fought Xemnas, two Titans, Cerberus, crossed blades with Sephiroth, and fought the God of the Dead. He's just a unicorn! Man up!_

Suddenly he saw Coltinster as an opponent, and he dropped his face into the serious expression he unconsciously always took on whenever Heartless reared their heads. "No," he declared. "We're gathering them so that someone else can't."

"And perhaps threaten the whole universe by having them all at your fingertips?" Coltinster pressed.

"Lay off Sora!" Kairi snapped. "We're getting them to prevent our enemies from doing the same; guys who are using the Heartless to get what they want. There, you happy now?"

"Heartless?" Coltinster asked. "You mean the Shadows?"

A familiar dreadful sound entered Sora's ears and he turned around. He flattened his ears and glared at the whorls of darkness that were now appearing in the room. Pinkie Pie and Spike both screamed as a Soldier appeared out of one of them, clacking in its iron-shod boots and helmet. More Soldiers popped out of the others, and two of the Heartless were a kind he hadn't seen before. They were about twice the size of the ponies, and mostly coloured black as the mantle of the night sky. Their transparent bodies had the pinpricks of shining red stars within them, and they had the bodies of bears with unicorn horns. Dark purple spines pierced their backsides from the base of the neck to their stubby tails. Eyes of malevolent yellow shone from their heads, and the Heartless emblem was emblazoned just beneath the horn. One Draco Ursa hissed at Sora, revealing a forked tongue between rows of sharp canines.

"We mean these guys," Sora said.

-G-M-

_Shorter chapter, and we get a bit of a cliffhanger here, don't we? Well, at least things are heating up in Equestria._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	6. Chaos in Canterlot

_Season 2 finale…epic beyond words. I don't think I needed to tell you all that, but it had to be said._

_Also, The Avengers comes out this week! Boo-yah!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned it, 'Love is in Bloom' and 'B.B.B.F.F.' would never have been born, so it's a good thing I don't. Awesome I may be in the eyes of some, but I'm definitely not _that_ awesome._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 5: Chaos in Canterlot

Twilight raised a hoof and knocked on the front door of a house in one of Canterlot's lesser districts, although that was a relative term. In the Royal City, even if your family wasn't from upstanding nobility with great lineage, very few families had homes of the humbler sort that even the wealthy in Ponyville enjoyed.

She could hear Riku shuffling around behind her, and Twilight felt a bit anxious herself. She hadn't seen her parents Twilight Velvet and Cobalt Bracer in three months. Twilight always tried to visit whenever she had to go to Canterlot, but circumstances sometimes kept her from fulfilling that wish.

Now she wasn't sure if this would be the last time she'd ever see them.

"Let's hurry and get inside," Riku muttered from behind her, "all these other ponies are starting to freak me out."

Twilight couldn't entirely say that she disagreed. While she supposed she could understand what Riku was going through, a little, she had certainly felt uncomfortable with all of the looks she and Riku had been receiving as they walked down the street together. Rarity had certainly been right and Twilight had the sense not to try and deny it: Riku was a gorgeous stallion; fit and strong, a shining silver mane and lustrous turquoise coat underneath bright aquamarine eyes. It was no wonder that several young mares had shot her jealous looks and whispered dark words under their breaths when they'd incorrectly judged her to have snagged a fine catch.

She almost facehoofed. Dating? Her? Not for a while yet, that was for sure. Her studies and her friends had to come first, and she knew that she didn't have room in her schedule for a coltfriend to be pencilled in.

The door opened and revealed a female unicorn at the door. Her coat was white and her mane purple and cream, three lilac stars were her cutie mark. Cyan eyes glittered excitedly as she saw who was at the door, and the unicorn mare hugged the slightly smaller mare. "Oh Sparkle, it's wonderful to see you."

"Great to see you too, Mom," Twilight Sparkle replied. They stepped back from each other and Twilight Velvet glanced at Riku for a second before returning her gaze to her daughter.

"Well, why don't you and your friend here come in? Your brother's here too, so we'll have the whole family here."

Twilight felt her eyes widen at the news. "Shining Armor's here?" A pleasant feeling of surprise filled her and she entered the house. Twilight Velvet stepped back a couple of paces and Riku followed her in.

"Twilie!"

Twilight gasped at the sound of her brother's voice and smiled. On the second floor landing she could see her older brother starting to come down towards her. Behind him was their father Cobalt Bracer, a cobalt blue unicorn with a navy mane and golden eyes. On his flank was a golden crescent moon and star. Shining Armor, though, was as white as his mother, with a mane mainly of the blue of his father's with an electric blue highlight, and eyes just like his mother's. His cutie mark was of a magenta star like Twilight's, except overtop a blue shield. Three cyan stars were plastered above the shield.

"I'm so glad to see you, Twilight," Shining Armor. "It's great that you could make it, especially considering what's been going on recently. Aren't you excited?"

Twilight looked at her brother in confusion. "Excited for what?"

Now Shining Armor cocked his head in bewilderment. "Didn't you get my letter?"

"I did," she answered, "but I never got to read it. My friend Rainbow Dash kept interrupting me and things kinda spiralled out of hoof after that." Her mother, father, and brother all laughed. "What is it?"

"Oh Twilight, I'm so proud of you," Shining Armor said, coming up and patting his sister on the head. "You said, 'my friend'." Twilight blushed a little and bowed her head. She was conscious that Riku was still behind them and paying attention to every word.

"Shining Armor…"

"What do you mean by that?" Riku asked, stepping forward slightly. Shining Armor laughed.

"Not only is my little sister here a smarty-pants egghead apprenticed to Princess Celestia, but before she went to Ponyville she never had any friends besides me," he told Riku. "And now she's got a whole bunch of friends from what we hear; and a _secret_ coltfriend by the looks of it."

Twilight was sure her face had gone as pink as Pinkie's mane at the implication. It was bad enough that her brother was embarrassing her by telling Riku that she'd never had friends before, but to imply that she was dating him? When she'd only just met him this morning and he wasn't even a pony for pony's sake! Ponies on the street she could handle even if it was a little embarrassing, but her own family too?

Before she could even answer to contradict him, Riku laughed. "Unfortunately for your imagination, no. Twilight Sparkle and I just met today. While she is important to me and my friends, she's not my girl—marefriend and I'm not looking for one."

"Dang," Shining Armor replied. "And here I was, hoping that she'd have a date for my wedding."

Twilight felt something in her snap. "Wait, what? What wedding!"

Cobalt Bracer smiled, humoured, at his second and youngest child. "Your brother's getting married, Sparkle, didn't you know?"

"NO!" she retorted. "And when did you decide this?"

"Just two days ago," her brother answered. "I wanted to let you all know as soon as possible. That's what was in the letter I sent to you, Twilight. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and I are getting married."

Twilight smiled. "Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order, except for one teensy-weensy thing."

"And what's that?" Twilight Velvet asked of her daughter.

"Who the hay is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Why haven't I heard of her before?" Twilight only felt her ire grow when her family started to laugh, and it increased exponentially when Riku chuckled slightly behind her. The jerk. He had to be even more in the dark than she was and yet he found this whole thing funny?

"You should know her better than almost any of us, Sparkle," Cobalt Bracer told her. "She was your foalsitter after all."

Shock coursed into Twilight and she stuttered over her next few words. "M—my foalsitter? N—no, Cadance was my foalsitter, not this Mi Amore Cadenz—"

_Cadenza, Cadance… Cadance, Cadenza…_

Shining Armor smiled when he saw the huge grin erupt onto his sister's face. "I think it clicked."

"You're marrying _Cadance_!" she exclaimed, "as in, Cadance, the best foalsitter in the history of foalsitters?"

"You tell us dear," Twilight Velvet said, "she was your foalsitter after all."

Twilight couldn't help but burst as the memories of her fillyhood foalsitter rushed back. "Oh my gosh! Woo-hoo! You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!"

"Alright, alright, settle down Twilie," Shining Armor said in what Twilight assumed to be an attempt to get her to stop bouncing up and down in a circle around him. "I don't think you've introduced us to your not-coltfriend here." Being reminded of Riku's presence in her family's home sobered her up quickly.

"Right," she said, coming down from the cloud she'd briefly visited with her brother's news. "Everypony, this is Riku. Riku, this is my mom, Twilight Velvet, my dad, Cobalt Bracer, and my brother, Shining Armor."

Riku nodded to each in turn, and Cobalt Bracer took a step forward. "So, why don't you tell us how you know our little Sparkle here?"

Riku smiled. "You really want to know?"

"Of course," Twilight Velvet answered.

"Yeah, we won't judge you here," Shining Armor added.

Twilight laughed nervously and went to stand next to Riku. She leaned up to whisper into his ear. "Maybe that's not such a good idea. My brother's a Captain of the Royal Guard."

"Even more reason," Riku whispered back. "I first saw her when I woke up behind bars in the castle dungeon this morning," he answered pleasantly. "Princess Celestia thought that we were connected to the…_Shadows_ that had been appearing, and she was right."

Twilight glanced between her family members anxiously. Her mother and father looked at each other in shock, but Shining Armor was suddenly glaring at Riku, a glare that was being met with a confident smirk. Her brother's horn began glowing with magenta light and his voice was even as he said, "Twilight, get behind me, now."

Twilight threw her hooves out in front of her as she stood on her hind legs. "No! Wait! You've got it wrong, brother! Riku's one of the good guys!" She dropped back down and pointed at Riku's flank. "See his cutie mark? That's a Keyblade. It's a weapon he and his friends carry that can defeat the Heartless, and apparently _I'm_ supposed to be one of these mystical wielders too and a pony who _somehow_ keeps all of the magic in existence flowing and balanced."

Shining Armor relented and his horn ceased glowing, but his glare at the younger stallion stayed. "Start explaining."

"Your sister is a Guardian of Magic," Riku answered plainly, "technically known as a Keeper of the Art. She's one of six beings that uphold the flow of all magic in existence through their own existence. When together with the other five, they can find and potentially summon any magical item existing and can perform feats of magic few could even dream of." He looked at Twilight now, and she shied away slightly at his gaze. She could feel everypony's eyes on her, and it was making her feel like she'd been asked a question she didn't have the answer to back in Magic Kindergarten. "Also, Twilight, don't call it a cutie mark. It makes me feel emasculated."

She chuckled dryly, trying to find humor in what he said despite the unwanted attention she was getting. Special was one thing, but this was a bit too special. "What are you talking about, Riku? That's what it is. No sense calling it something that it's not."

"You could at least drop the 'cutie' part from it and just say 'marking' or 'crest' or 'sigil' or even just call it a 'tattoo'. Just thinking 'cutie mark' and me in the same sentence makes me want to hurl."

"Why's that?" Twilight Velvet asked.

"Let's just say that I come from a place where my societal gender stereotype brainwashing tells me that the phrase 'cutie mark' belongs solely to little six year old fillies, not grown stallions," he answered. Twilight saw him smirk again at her older brother. "Shining Armor, I'm not lying. If I really were allied with the Heartless, I wouldn't have come with Twilight to help her explain to you all that she's going to have to leave Equestria with my friends and me."

Twilight felt her heart wrench at the looks on her family's faces. "But Riku," her mother asked, "why? Sparkle, what is he saying?" Riku only looked at Twilight Sparkle. Feeling the pit in her stomach deepen, the lavender unicorn opened her mouth to speak. She could feel the beginnings of tears in her eyes. Her brother was going to get married, and she was probably going to miss the most important day of his life because some villain was hunting her due to a power she'd never even known existed.

"I—"

A scream from outside cut her off before she could even start. Riku's ears perked up beside her, and he quickly spun around. Through the window Twilight was able to see a grey earth pony run by, screaming. A second later Heartless that appeared to be more of the Shadows that had been attacking Trixie; along with some others that looked like them, only in helmets, boots, and blue bodysuits with a strange heart-shaped emblem on the front, ran past in pursuit.

"That's my cue," Riku growled.

-G-M-

Rainbow Dash felt her jaw drop in what she knew to be a bit of fear when one of the Draco Ursas roared loudly into Sora's face. Spike, Pinkie, and Peewee all fled from where the Heartless were gathering in the centre of the room and quickly joined the others near her and Coltinster. "What are those things?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a hoof between the smaller Heartless and the massive bear-dragon ones.

"Meet the Heartless," Sora replied, the chocolate-maned pegasus crouching lower and snorting at the throng that had appeared in the room with them.

"And they don't seem too happy to see us," Kairi added, and Rainbow Dash was sure that she almost sounded eager about it despite the panic she'd displayed earlier. Flashes of light came from the mouths of both pegasi, revealing their Keyblades within. Rainbow could only watch as the pair charged towards the Soldiers and two Draco Ursas, and suddenly they were upon them. With a fast jerk of his neck to the right, Sora sent the Oblivion flying out of his mouth, the onyx Keyblade spinning like a circular saw as it cut through the air to chop right through a Soldier Heartless' helmeted head. Kairi attacked from Sora's left, her angelic white Keyblade transferring into her scarlet tail from her mouth in another flash of light before she spun around on her hooves so her back was turned to the Soldier she'd charged. The Oathkeeper rose and descended in her tail's grasp, slicing through the Heartless' front in one swipe. Both Soldiers burst apart into clouds of darkness, and pink crystal hearts rose up into the sky from out of their bodies.

"Ooh," Pinkie Pie said, looking at the rising hearts.

"Well?" a voice snapped from the side, and Rainbow turned her head to see the bearded old unicorn Coltinster staring at her and her friends. "Aren't ye going to do anything, or are the Elements of Harmony going to let two ponies they hardly know defend Equestria without the help of those who were born and bred here?"

"But we don't have the Elements here with us," Rarity said. "Princess Celestia said that arming ourselves with the Elements could wait until after we'd questioned Riku and them."

"And besides, they won't work if we're not all here," Applejack added. She glanced around quickly, and Rainbow Dash watched Sora make short work of another two Soldiers with a single slash, the brown pegasus leaping through the air with his Keyblade clutched in a hoof. "Ah don't see Twilight anywhere. Did anypony see where she went?"

"Oh, I saw her!" Pinkie announced. "She left with Riku a while ago, but I'm not sure what about."

"Then, what are we going to do?" Spike asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know. Without the Elements, how can we—?"

The unicorn's reprimand had lit a fire in Rainbow Dash's belly, a fire that the fearful presence of the two Heartless that were each twice her size couldn't smother. Sora and Kairi were fighting so well, so strongly, even if their movements were somewhat awkward from never having fought as ponies before. Rainbow spoke before Spike could finish his sentence. "Easy," she answered loudly, flapping her wings to take her into the air and clapping her forehooves together, "we do this the _hard_ way. I don't know everything about this Keybladey stuff, but I am not going to let myself get shown up! Are you guys with me?"

"Let's do it!" Applejack crowed. "Come on y'all, and let's show these two how ponies wrassle."

Rainbow Dash needed no further encouragement. So long as Applejack was game, she was sure they had this in the bag. Bolting forward, Rainbow Dash tackled one of the Soldiers that had been about to swipe at Kairi's chest, the pink pegasus having turned her head to watch where her tail-grasped Keyblade was swinging. She snorted right in the Soldier's face as she pinned it to the ground, its golden eyes watching her unblinkingly. Rainbow smashed her hooves down, and suddenly the weight beneath her vanished as the Soldier became nothing more than a dark cloud. A shudder went through her unbidden at the cold feeling of the dark wisps that made up the Heartless against her skin and coat, but it quickly passed.

"Thanks Rainbow Dash," Kairi said, "that was pretty good."

Rainbow Dash perked up a little and rubbed a hoof against the back of her head. "Well, uh, you're welcome." She ducked her head as fire suddenly lanced out from the mouth of one of the Draco Ursas. The smell of burn hair filled her nostrils and Rainbow Dash gulped as she stared into the leering yellow eyes of the large Heartless. Suddenly her view was blocked as Sora stood in front of her; out of the corner of her eye she could see Applejack striking down a Soldier with a well-placed buck from her two back hooves.

"You deal with the little ones," Sora told her firmly, "Kairi and I will handle the ugly ones."

"Ye seem to be doing a poor job of it," Coltinster commented dryly from behind. "For Keyblade Wielders, your skills are far behind those I've met many years ago."

"Forgive us," Kairi snapped, jumping away from a massive claw that one of the two Draco Ursas was swiping at her, "but we haven't gotten the whole, fighting as ponies with swords thing down yet!" Rainbow Dash heard the old pony grumble something about excuses and the young, but concentrated instead on the Soldier clacking about in front of her. Its red-coloured claw darted towards her snout. Rainbow ascended on her strong wings, dodging the swipe, and kicked the earthbound Heartless on the head. It staggered backwards, shaking its head while appearing to be in a daze, and was then blasted halfway across the room to smash into a pillar, a trail of confetti and streamers behind it. Pinkie Pie stood just shy of where it had been, her party cannon held in front of her.

"I guess these Heartless just don't know how to party," she told Rainbow Dash with a warm smile. Her face contorted in pain and Pinkie jumped up, yelping, "OW!" after a Soldier's iron-shod foot connected with her flank.

The Heartless barely had time to regret it. As it turned around it met the violent cyan eyes of a usually soft-spoken yellow pegasus. "I don't care who or what you are, mister," Fluttershy told it. "So what if you and everything like you are made up of scary darkness, you do not, you do _not_, hurt my friends!"

Rainbow Dash smiled as the Soldier went completely slack, absently gazing at Fluttershy as the Stare Master paralyzed it in fear of her stare. She was right about to dive down and smash the creature's head into the dust when a crackling bolt of lightning suddenly jolted into the Heartless' stomach. The Soldier flew only a couple hooves before bursting apart in a dark cloud. Rainbow shook her head in surprise and saw Coltinster's horn sparking with lightning.

A yelp of surprise and pain touched Rainbow's ears and she saw Sora tumbling across the marble floor of the ballroom, his coat singing from where a red bolt had exited one Draco Ursa's horn and struck him on the flank. Kairi's shout of his name overpowered several others' but hers quickly turned into one of momentary pain as a claw from the second one swatted her twelve hooves back. The pink pegasus crashed into Rarity, and the two ponies slid until they were only a short distance away from another pillar. Both Draco Ursas were the only Heartless left in the room; one was sporting a shallow wound near the shoulder that was oozing black wisps, and neither of them looked too happy at the moment.

Rainbow Dash gulped as both of them roared loud enough that she was sure Ponyville could hear them, and muttered, "This isn't going to be good."

"I think this farce has gone on long enough," a disgruntled voice said behind her. Coltinster's horn sparked again and another bolt of lightning, this one as thick as one of Applejack's legs, zapped out of his horn and struck the closest Draco Ursa. The beast roared in pain, and the lightning arced off of its body and struck the second one too, only the bolt wasn't quite so thick as it had been. The first Draco Ursa burst apart in a large cloud of black smoke that slowly dissipated, while the second one now had a smoking hole in its cheek leaking darkness to go with the cut on its shoulder. It emitted a low yowl.

"It's hurt bad," Fluttershy said shakily.

Rainbow Dash smirked and yelled, flying towards the Draco Ursa with one hoof extended. She kicked the beast hard on its wounded cheek, and then spun around and delivered a second hit with her right forehoof chopping across. The Heartless staggered from the blows, and sharply turned its head towards her, displaying rows of glistening, sharp teeth and a forked tongue. Rainbow could see fire welling up within its mouth, and she gulped. _This won't end well._

The fire never spewed out. She only heard a muffled, "Urf," and the Heartless sagged for a moment before breaking apart with a pink crystalline heart rising up into the air. Sora was panting beneath Rainbow Dash, the Oblivion digging back into his mouth after he'd stabbed his foe with the weapon. His eyes were beyond wide and he started to heave, the pony's weapon lodged behind his back teeth and rubbing against his throat.

"Oh gods, Sora!" Kairi gasped, getting back onto her hooves and galloping to her coltfriend. The Oblivion vanished from his mouth and Sora began hacking loudly and painfully. "Are you okay?"

He winced slightly, but responded, "Yeah, I'm okay Kairi."

"That was pitiful."

All heads turned towards Coltinster, the old unicorn giving the two Keyblade-Wielding ponies looks of disapproval.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash started, "Who the hay do you think you are to—"

"No, Rainbow Dash," Sora said quietly, "he's right."

"Ye wouldn't last four seconds against any of the fourteen of your predecessors I have known in my lifetime," Coltinster continued. "I have known all to be beyond exceptional fighters, and none of them would have displayed the sloppy work that you two did just now."

"We would if we were human," Kairi muttered under her breath.

Coltinster stamped a hoof down hard. "No excuses! Human or not, ye Wielders are the front line guardians of balance in the Realm of Light. While fighting with the Keyblade in different animal forms may not be instinctual, ye are always given a way to do so. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, what did ye notice about how they fought?"

"Are yah sure this is really the best time to be doin' this?" Applejack asked.

"I agree with Applejack," Rarity concurred, fixing her rumpled mane with her nose. "They should both get looked at after the—" She stopped as Coltinster fixed her with a stare equal to Fluttershy's. He glanced up at Rainbow Dash as she hovered over them all.

A jolt of fear touched the proud pegasus' heart and she instantly began answering. Forget the Heartless or dragons, _this_ pony was downright the scariest thing she'd ever met. "Well, if I had to say anything, it was that they weren't using their wings to fly around, or holding their swords in their hooves."

"We can do that?" Kairi asked, glancing at Sora in confusion before looking at her hoof.

"Well, sure," Applejack answered. "My sister Apple Bloom was able to hold a foil in her hoof with no problem when she had Cutie Pox that one time."

"And Mulia Mild had a good couple of hooves on that ninjat ō when she sliced up the MMM," Pinkie added.

"You remember that that was me, Fluttershy, and Rarity, not Mulia, right?" Rainbow reminded Pinkie.

"Oh, right, silly me."

Sora looked sceptical, and glanced at his right forehoof. The Oblivion appeared there in a flash of light, and Sora looked surprised when he was able to hold it firmly in his hoof instead of it falling off. "You know, logically biology _should_ tell me that this is impossible, but I'm willing to overlook it if it means I can fight." His Keyblade vanished, and he looked at Applejack. "What were these things we've heard mentioned a few times? The Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, they're these necklaces and a crown thingy that Twilight's got that represent friendship," the cowpony replied. "Fer instance, I represent the Element of Honesty."

"Laughter!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, giggling immediately afterwards.

"Generosity," said Rarity.

"Kindness," Fluttershy added.

"Loyalty," Rainbow Dash said proudly, dropping onto the floor next to Sora. "I'd never leave my friends hanging."

"And Twilight's the Element of Magic," Spike concluded. "They've used the Elements of Harmony to save all of Equestria a couple times."

Rainbow Dash saw Sora and Kairi looking at her and her friends with mild annoyance. "You mean to say that you've got magical weapons, powered by the friendship you have within your hearts, that you've used to save your world a few times, but you don't have them with you?"

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Eh he he, yeah."

"So where are they?" Kairi asked.

"In a special hall in the castle," Rarity answered. "But we can't get at them anyway. Princess Celestia keeps them in a vault that's locked up with a spell only she can undo."

Rainbow could see the smirks appear on the two off-world pegasi's faces. "Locked, huh?" Sora asked. "Take us to them."

-G-M-

_Well, there's something of a battle at any rate. Coltinster proves himself as being badass number one in the room with his use of the Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning spells. Now if only he'd cast Polymorph on those two to briefly make them human again…_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	7. Magic Rules

_Wow. Lots of suggestions for weapons. Thanks guys. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something from all of that._

_So, I have used this quote before when it comes to explaining to people about how long the writing process can take, even when you've become good at it, and I feel as though I must share it once again, as this is what it has felt like for me these past six months or so. The quote is from the book, _Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life _(1995) by Anne Lamott._

"Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled. They do not type a few stiff warm-up sentences and then find themselves bounding along like huskies across the snow. One writer I know tells me that he sits down every morning and says to himself nicely, "It's not that you don't have a choice, because you do—you can either type or kill yourself." We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid. The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time. Now, Muriel Spark is said to have felt like she was taking dictation from God every morning—sitting there, one supposes, plugged into a Dictaphone, typing away, humming. But this is a very hostile and aggressive position. One might hope for bad things to rain down on a person like this."

_If you are another writer on this site, another site, or are actually a published one raking in whatever bits you can from your work, I am sure that you can agree with that quote to some degree._

_Disclaimer: Shire Folk, it is your turn. Please roll the die, make a suggestion, use the secret passage, or admit that you don't own My Little Pony and Kingdom Hearts._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 6: Magic Rules

Trixie's horn glowed with violet light while she lay in the bed she'd been placed in. Spoonful after spoonful of soup entered her mouth from the bowl she'd been brought, but the unicorn paid little attention to it. Her purple eyes were instead fixed on the object lying on the sheets across her barrel. The Keyblade was about as long as her body was. Its guard was circular and made up of silver and cyan stars, and the blade's grip was a pale robin's egg blue. Shooting out of the hilt from a bouquet of red and gold blossoms was the blade, a silver core spiralled by green and copper threads like fireworks, and the key-tip was a periwinkle five-pointed star like the one of the wand on her own cutie mark. Dangling from a silver chain at the base of the hilt rested a golden crescent moon.

_So this is the Keyblade I am bestowed,_ Trixie thought to herself, pouring over every inch of it in great detail. She had refused to allow Sora or the other ponies she hadn't met leave without explaining to her exactly what this object was and what it could do. _Flare. A fitting name, I suppose. It does have a little of its own flare about it._ She nibbled on a bit more of the bread before turning her attention towards a pile of hay fries and daffodils, feeling her stomachs lessening in their hunger pains.

The showpony sighed and smiled a little. "I guess Trixie does owe her one, don't I?" she asked nopony in particular, having been left alone to rest and recuperate. She levitated a hay fry towards her mouth and began consumption. Twilight Sparkle certainly was somepony she didn't quite have a grasp on yet. She had no reason to assist Trixie when she had been in trouble against the Heartless earlier; she even had a couple of reasons to go out of her way _not_ to help, yet still she did. Now Trixie was in the care of Canterlot Castle's physicians, and being fed better fare than she had eaten for the majority of the last month. Although, she had undoubtedly developed a certain taste for pinecones…

She began to levitate another hay fry to her mouth, but paused and looked at it with unfocussed eyes. "I owe almost everything to Twilight Sparkle, don't I? My life, a chance to make amends, the care from the doctors here at the castle and good standing with the Princess, but…" she trailed off, and bit the hay fry with her teeth. Chewing the fry was a mechanical action as she lowered her eyes. Trixie swallowed, purple eyes now resting upon the Keyblade on her bed.

"This is one thing that I don't owe Twilight Sparkle for," she said, a surge of her old pride entering her voice. "This Keyblade, and this business with being a Guardian of Magic, this could be the change in fortune I was looking for. No more will I have to perform odd jobs hardly worthy of a pony of my talents. Trixie will train hard, and learn to use this weapon to beyond the best of her ability. The Heartless, the dreaded Ursa Major, and even the worst of the worst of foals' birthday parties will not pose a challenge to the new and improved Great and Powerful Trixie! Father always did say that you were destined for greatness, Trixie!"

She stopped for a moment, hearing herself talk, and giggled. "Look at myself, talking in third person when nopony's around. Act the part long enough and it becomes you, I suppose." She laughed a little more and continued consuming those delicious hay fries that had been brought up for her.

"You do birthday parties?" a voice asked excitedly.

Trixie turned her head. The young light blue filly that had been with the Elements and princesses was slowly entering the hospital room, and had clearly heard her declaration. "Yes," she told the filly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does perform her magic tricks for birthday parties. No foal has ever been disappointed by Trixie's performances."

"Why do you do that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side while her hooves _clip-clopped_ on the stone.

"Why does Trixie do what, little Rei?"

"That," she answered, almost a giggle in her voice. "Talking like that. Calling yourself by your name instead of just saying 'I'. It'd be a lot faster if you just said that instead."

Trixie chuckled slightly, humoured by Sora's young sister. "It is all part of Trixie's act; specifically, my persona as The Great and Powerful Trixie. All of the very best and most talented showponies have their own signatures to ensure that the ponies who see their shows remember them. Mostly ability, part bravado, but…as Trixie has learned, if the pony places reputation and bravado above their ability they are liable to fall." She gave Rei a serious look. "Remember that well, young filly. Boasting a little is nothing to be ashamed of and is something all ponies do, but boast too much and your perfect life will rip at the seams and leave you forgotten as dust in the wind. Earning your place in the world is difficult, and regaining it is even harder. However…" she paused and glanced at Flare as she still held it in her telekinetic grasp, "this should make things a little easier."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Rei said, pointing a hoof at the weapon floating in the air. "Sora says that being a Keyblade Wielder is hard and dangerous, and I've been going with him to different places long enough now to know that he's right. Fighting evil _is_ hard and dangerous." The filly dropped her head slightly and closed her eyes. In front of her materialized the very item that was depicted by the cutie mark on her flank, and it did not take much of Trixie's considerable intelligence to understand that it too was a Keyblade. The sword's guard looked like an empty triangle made of silver feathers, and the grip was white-gold. The length of the blade was a background of black with pinprick stars, with small silver and brass jingle-bells running down it, joined by a bolt of yellow lightning. At the end, jutting up like the star on Trixie Lulamoon's own Keyblade, was a domed brass bell with a silver bolt of lightning on it. Dangling off a chain from the bottom of the guard hung a diamond-shaped piece of obsidian with a yellow lightning bolt dashing the front.

"I'm a Wielder too," Rei continued, pouting and looking down at the weapon lying on the floor, "but Sora still treats me like a little kid." She lay down flat on her chest, propping her head up with her forelegs. "_I'm_ the one who knows who the Guardians are when I see them. I knew that you and Twilight were them when I saw you! I know that that's important enough of a reason for me to be with my big brother, but I'm a Keyblade Wielder too. He doesn't need to carry the weight of all the worlds on just his and Kairi's and Riku's shoulders."

Trixie calmly placed Flare back down upon the bed while quietly levitating another hay fry to her mouth. She chewed it thoughtfully, watching the banana-maned filly bat the hilt of Thunderbell this way and that with her hooves. She swallowed. "You know," Trixie began, raising her head and now grasping for another spoonful of her soup with her magic, "I never had the burden of looking after siblings while I was growing up. Such a troublesome thing, it appears, having to watch over their shoulders day after day, dealing with bullies, being somepony to talk to about their problems, helping them to discover their special talents and be right there with them to celebrate on the day that they get their cutie marks. Although…" she sipped her soup, slowly, _agonizingly_ slowly to the filly that was listening to her, "I imagine that knowing that they are safe and happy, and doing fun things together, would have been enjoyable had my parents had the luxury of being more fortunate. If anything, your brother merely appears to be trying to protect his baby sister from the dangerous things that seek out the Keyblade and its bearers, if my understanding of its relation to the Heartless is correct; it is hardly something to be upset about."

Trixie paused for a moment, and peered quizzically at Rei as a thought struck her. "Why do you do that anyway?"

"Do what?" Rei asked.

"Earlier, you were calling your brother onii-chan or Sora-nii-chan, and while I now understand what that means, now you are simply referring to him by his name alone. What is the reason behind the change?"

Rei answered with a knowing giggle. "Oh, I only call him that when he's around because it bugs him."

Trixie snorted with a small smile of amusement. She ate another spoonful of her soup, and then felt out the innermost innate material signature of the knife in the jam jar, and grasped it firmly with her honed inborn abilities. Her horn's violet glow still persisted as it enveloped the butter knife, and controlling it to scoop up a moderate amount of strawberry jam and spread it upon a slice of the bread she'd been brought was a trifle of a task.

Regardless of how menial her use of magic was, the young filly in front of her had been unable to keep her eyes off of any of the objects she'd been levitating in her horn's magical glow. Trixie chuckled inwardly. Rei's interest in the magical arts was easy to recognize. Most young unicorns were always interested in magic and in discovering just how much they had the potential to wield and control. She focussed her mind again, drawing upon the stores of energies of arcane power deep within her that she had learned how to feel for and access. Her horn glowed, and Trixie theatrically waved her hooves in the air in front of her as the glow began to encompass an area of space between her and the foal.

Exteriorly she exhibited a state of calm confidence, while on the inside Trixie felt nothing but studious concentration. Conjuration tricks were a difficult school of magic to perform for any unicorn, creating things out of nothing but the energy of Art. Each particle had to be created perfectly, and then linked to one another within a tiny pocket dimension first created in the space where the conjured object is supposed to appear, without fault, in a delicate process that required extreme amounts of concentration. Even for one as practiced in conjuring small objects as Trixie was, it still required over ninety-five percent of her focus; one careless mistake could send the entire object being created spiralling down into chaos and lost before it could even pop into existence. The only difference between her and other, lesser, unicorns was the speed in which she was able to perform the task. Having performed this trick over a hundred times before, Trixie knew all of its intricacies and where she had to be careful when linking. Cell creation and correctly mapping their locations is a delicate process after all.

Strangely enough, she felt as though the task was coming to her much easier than it ever had before.

Only ten seconds after she began, a process that would take anywhere from half a minute to two for a less-practiced or talented unicorn, Trixie was satisfied in her creation and pulled it out of the tiny pocket dimension she'd created, the white paper-wrapped bouquet of chrysanthemums, orchids, and a pair of stargazer lilies appearing in the space of her horn's glow. Trixie properly collapsed the dimension she'd created to hold the bouquet as she was making it, seized the flowers in her magical grasp, and levitated them towards the filly with a proud smirk dancing on her face, caused wholly by the wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression of glee Rei had.

Rei took the bouquet into her hooves, and beamed up at Trixie. "Wow! Not even my brother can do something like _that_ with magic!" she said. "He's never conjured up anything besides fireballs."

Trixie chuckled. "It was nothing for the Great and Powerful Trixie, my little admirer. If time and your brother permits Trixie is sure that you could receive lessons from the Great and Powerful Trixie, though you could never be half as…" Rei's words hit her, and she sweatdropped. "Did you say 'fireballs'?"

Rei nodded. "Uh-huh. And lightning and thunder and water and icicles bigger than your whole body! And huge gusts of wind! And he and Kairi even worked together to make a whirling lightning storm that rained fire! They both slept for a whole day afterwards, though, but it was _amazing_! That huge Nightwalker never stood a chance! Buuut…" she giggled, and Trixie hoped that it wasn't at the look that she knew was frozen onto her face, "he's never actually _made_ anything with his magic, so that still makes you amazing."

Trixie quickly rearranged her facial features to hide her utter shock at the extent of the _pegasi's_ magical abilities and reveal nothing but grudging acceptance. "Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie does perform awesome feats of magic," she declared, "but, naturally, Trixie wouldn't dare attempt a feat so awe-inspiring that it could wreck havoc on a town such as a fiery tornado. The publicity would not be so beneficial to her career." They both stopped and looked at another for a few seconds, Rei holding onto the bouquet, and then laughed.

Rei's laughter ceased suddenly, and she stood up on all four of her hooves.

Trixie furrowed her brow in confusion. "What is it?"

"They're here," the filly answered firmly, "I can feel them." Thunderbell became enveloped in a flash of light from where it lay on the ground and disappeared, reappearing in Rei's mouth a moment later. Seconds later a half-dozen Shadows rose up out of the tiles in the floor, not a trace of them having been present before.

Shivers ran down Trixie's spine as she saw the Heartless for the second time, but for the first knowing exactly what they were and what they sought to do. Hers and Rei's very hearts were on the line, the creatures of inky black drawn to devour their hearts and turn the ponies into Heartless like themselves. Trixie couldn't deny to herself that she was afraid, with knowledge making her even more afraid this time than the last, but at the same time she recalled something else about the Heartless that Sora had imparted to her.

"_Heartless fear the Keyblade. They are drawn to kill its wielders because we are dangerous to them; the Keyblade can defeat them like nothing else can."_

Trixie's eyes fell upon Flare as it rested on the bed atop the covers, and with fear being hedged by the desire of vengeance and the knowledge that her weapon could destroy them, Trixie twisted around and stood up on the bed. She grasped Flare with a levitation spell and declared, "Leave the foal alone! You seek to challenge the awesome magical might of The Great and Powerful Trixie, Guardian of Magic and Keyblade Wielder? Show me your best, Heartless!"

"Pwixie!" Rei exclaimed as the Heartless all jumped for the showpony, Rei's mouth and tongue flummoxed to make the appropriate sounds while they held onto her weapon. Trixie leapt off the bed, dodging the darting claws of the attacking Shadows, and simultaneously directed her Keyblade through the air. Flare plunged straight into the chest of one of the leaping Shadows, and the Heartless burst apart in a cloud of dark smoke.

A startled gasp of pain went out of Trixie's mouth as she landed, a sudden spike of pain shooting through her left foreleg. The muscle she'd strained before must still be a little weak. Blinking away the pain, Trixie moved Flare closer to her and the filly, eyeing the remaining Heartless on the bed and giving them a stubbornly brash smirk. "If you think that was all Trixie had in store for you then you're very wrong," she announced, and then shouted wordlessly as she slashed Flare across the bed with all the force her levitation spell could muster.

Her Keyblade cut through all but one, with the remaining Heartless only escaping doom because it had melted into its own shadow on the sheets. Both unicorns watched it carefully as it wriggled seamlessly off the bed and onto the floor. Instead of heading straight for Trixie, as the azure unicorn had hoped, it instead went and stopped right next to Rei. Trixie readied Flare in the air above her as the Shadow started to emerge from the floor, but Rei turned her back on the rising Shadow and quickly gave it a hard buck with her back legs. The Shadow stumbled backwards several steps on its flat feet, head wobbling and seeing stars, and so was completely unable to avoid Thunderbell's slice through its chest as Rei turned back around and gave her neck a hard jerk.

All was quiet for a few moments as the last wisps of the Shadow faded away. Rei suddenly spat her Keyblade out of her mouth. "There's got to be a better way than that," she complained, Thunderbell vanishing in a shimmer of sparkles. "I've got almost no control using it in my mouth like that." She glanced behind her, and Thunderbell appeared in the grasp of the cord of muscle tissue at the centre of her banana-yellow tail. Rei experimentally swung it a couple of times before sighing and dismissing her Keyblade. "No, that won't really do either." She looked at Trixie, and cocked her head to her side. She pointed a hoof at Flare. "How can I do that?"

For a moment, Trixie didn't know what the filly was talking about, and was about to point out that she didn't until she realized that she was still holding Flare in the air by her horn's glow. She smiled knowingly at Rei, and laughed in her throat to herself. A pupil had presented herself before the Great and Powerful Trixie. She wasn't the first, and certainly would not be the last, foal to do so, but Rei would definitely go down in history as the first one that Trixie had accepted.

_And while we're at it, she can tell me more of her brother's and the Keyblade's powers._

Her stomach rumbled suddenly. "Trixie will teach you how," she said, dismissing her Keyblade in a shower of white sparkles and raising her head with a superior air, "after she has finished her soup."

-G-M-

Riku burst out of the door of Twilight Sparkle's parent's house, his eyes already sweeping up and down the road. Considering the number of ponies running around screaming, he was surprised that there were as few Heartless as there were. A cursory glance told him there were no more than ten Shadows and half as many Soldiers clacking about.

"Here I come," he muttered to himself, grinning at the prospects in front of him. Fighting Mortimer earlier that morning only to get unexpectedly blasted into Equestria before he could flatten the pompous rodent's nose had left a sour taste in his mouth, and taking out these Heartless would go a long way towards removing it.

Racing past a yellow earth pony mare, Way to the Dawn appeared in Riku's mouth with a flash. He'd reached the first Soldier Heartless almost before it could realize that a Keyblade Wielder was upon it. Forehooves pounced down on its helmeted head, driving the Heartless prone to the ground, and Riku drove Way to the Dawn through its neck with a swing of his own. A pink crystalline heart emerged from the black cloud of smoke that the Heartless turned into, and bathed Riku's face in its pink light as it slowly rose into the sky. The turquoise unicorn spun around, tail flicking to slap against his flank, and chose his next target. Another Soldier was clattering towards him from halfway across the wide street. Riku almost laughed, so eager did it seem to meet its death.

He reared, neighing in challenge, and galloped for the Soldier with head beared and horn pointed. The Soldier performed a small kick-step and hurtled towards the silver-maned unicorn with iron-shod boot forward. Riku felt his charge only slow slightly and he grunted in satisfaction even as his head pounded from the boot connecting with his skull. His horn had pierced right through the Soldier's armoured foot, and now the Heartless was squirming and struggling to get free. Riku could feel red claws scratching at him, trying to get him to release it.

Riku was more than ready to oblige; the scratches were quite annoying and the Soldier's body was detracting from his view of Canterlot. Riku tossed his head to the right, slinging the Soldier off and into the air. He followed with another fling of his neck and a release of the Keyblade in his mouth. Riku watched for two moments as Way to the Dawn whirled left-right in the air before catching up to the Soldier, running it through the chest, and pinning the body to the wall of a house on the street's opposite side. Another second, and the Soldier's struggling ceased as it succumbed to its wounds. It burst apart into wisps of darkness, and another heart rose into the sky.

"Riku!"

He turned his head, seeing that Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor had both emerged from their parents' house and into the street. It was mostly deserted of ponies now, although there were a few that had stopped in their escaping to watch him do his thing in awe. "Ah, good," he said, "here to watch me take these guys out?" He winked, and Twilight rolled her eyes.

"No," she answered patiently, like she was answering the painfully obvious questions of a child. "This is my childhood home, and I want to help. Besides, Shining Armor needs to uphold his reputation as a Captain of the Royal Guards."

Riku sidestepped a Shadow that had lunged at him. He smirked at Twilight's older brother. "Yeah, we wouldn't want a captain to be upstaged by somepony who was a prisoner only hours ago."

A blast of magenta light rocketed out of Shining Armor's horn and smothered the Shadow completely. The Guard Captain looked up and gave Riku a superior look. "What was that about upstaging?"

Riku raised an eyebrow, saying without words, 'Oh?' He promptly turned back to the Heartless on the street. His horn charged with black and dark navy blue light, and he leveled it towards a remaining Soldier. "Dark Aura!"

A ball of black and dark blue fire emerged from his horn, twice the size of his head, and roared through the air on a straight path for the Soldier. It burst apart in a firework of dark flame as it struck, and all they could see of the Soldier was its released heart rising into the sky to join the other three. Only two Soldiers were left, and they both hung back while the Shadows melted into the ground and advanced in safety.

Riku could see Shining Armor and Twilight looking at the space where the Soldier he'd blasted used to be in shock, but Shining Armor shook his head first and gave Riku a look of respectful acknowledgement. "Alright. That was nice, but…you've still got a ways to go if you want to best _the_ Captain of the Palace Guard."

"Ah, so you're not only a captain of the Royal Guards, but you're also the one in charge of the guards of Canterlot Castle, are you," Riku replied. He bowed with exaggerated politeness. "Well then, after you, Captain Shining Armor."

Shining Armor smiled and placed the tip of his hoof against the top of his chest, just shy of his neck. "Thank you Riku," he said with all the measure of a true gentlecolt. He eyed the Shadows with supreme confidence, definitely not about to look weak in front of his little sister, and his horn flared with magenta light. The Shadows emerged from the ground, their claws at the ready to tear into him and Riku, when suddenly all of them became enveloped by the same magenta glow that was around Shining Armor's horn. Riku watched with amusement as all nine of the Shadows started bouncing around the street, their heads smashing into the pavement or each other. Two of them Shining Armor even hurtled skyward so fast that Riku almost hurt his neck following their ascent.

In the end, though, the unicorn dispatched the Shadows he was levitating around. Riku had to admit that Shining Armor looked like he was having quite a bit of fun playing with the Heartless before vanquishing them. Shining Armor gave Riku a smile with a toss of his head, and Riku sat down on his rear and gave him a polite golf clap with his hooves. He waved one hoof towards the two Soldiers that had stood watching from the sidelines as their brethren were bounced and splattered to death. "You missed two though," Riku noted.

Both Soldiers vanished in streams of pink light. Riku and Shining Armor both blinked and looked at each other. The two stallions turned their heads.

Twilight gave both of them a somewhat sheepish smile. She pawed at the ground with a hoof. "Well, I couldn't let you two take all the credit…"

Riku turned his head to look back at Shining Armor. "You know, at first I had some reservations about your sister, but now I think she'll fit in with us just fine."

-G-M-

_So that's that. Riku's fight scene went through about eight different revisions before I finally settled on this one._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	8. Getting the Elements

_(We see a pony flying in a circle in the middle of a brightly lit park. On the ground before her is a stack of several sheets of parchment. The pegasus' coat is mostly a rust brown colour, though she has many bands of bright yellow accentuating the coat on her legs and face. Across her shoulders rests a golden-yellow vest. Her mane and braided tail are a mixture of tomato and plum, and she wears elegant golden-rimmed glasses over her blue eyes. The pegasus has a giddy smile on her face as she twitters in the air.)_

_(Another pony walks up to her, this one a sky-blue earth pony wearing golden bracelets gemmed with emeralds on his forelegs and a green cape on his back. His light blue eyes are rimmed with simple dark yellow glasses that rest beneath pointed ears. His mane and tail consist of nicely styled cyan with dark blue streaks running through them.)_

_Shire Folk: (Looking up at the flying pegasus) "So, I take it you approve of this chapter, Goldpen?"_

_(Goldpen smiles and lands on the ground next to the stack of parchment)_

_Goldpen: "Oh, I do. Not too many errors that I spotted, but I am surprised at you, Mr. Imperial."_

_(Shire Folk frowns) Shire: "Shut up you Republican."_

_Goldpen: "All Hail The New Lunar Republic!"_

_Shire Folk: "All Glory to the Solar Empire!"_

_Goldpen: (giggling) "Well, I wouldn't know about that after reading _this_ chapter."_

_Shire Folk: "Can we just get a disclaimer done?"_

_**Pinkie Pie: "KUMQUAT!"**_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter Seven: Getting the Elements

"You're sure that this is the right way?"

"Of course I'm sure," Pinkie Pie answered, the pink pony bouncing up and down. She had been leading them ever since they'd all left the ballroom, with the only change to the group being the departure of Coltinster. Apparently he had more important business to take care of. "Canterlot Tower should be right about, here!" She stopped her bouncing directly in front of a pair of double doors, and Kairi looked up. They were standing right in front of a tall white tower.

"Well, this sure looks like the place," Applejack said. She looked over at Sora with an anxious expression. "Are yah sure we should be tryin' to get the Elements without the princess?"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash added, "Princess Celestia did say that the Elements were locked up with a spell only she could break."

Kairi snorted and rolled her eyes, humoured. She pushed against the double doors and entered the room. A long hallway stood in front of her, and Kairi had to pause for a few moments to stare ahead in wonder. A plush red carpet rolled the entire length of the hall over the checkered marble floor. Tall windows let the light of the sun in opposite others of stained glass, beautifully depicting murals that Kairi was unsure of the meaning of. Bouquets of flowers decorated every pillar, and at the far end underneath banners and flanked by strong granite statues of unicorns in powerful poses was what Kairi took to be a door. "Come on," Kairi said, slowly entering the tower, "let's get these Elements of yours."

Their hoofsteps were muffled as the seven ponies and baby dragon slowly filed down the length of the tower. Kairi couldn't keep herself from looking at the different stained glass murals as she passed them, and noticed that Sora kept his eyes forward on that doorway at the very end of the tower, kept within its elaborate golden frame. There was a shining sun right in its centre and six white circles arrayed vertically on either side.

"I haven't been in here since we defeated Discord," Fluttershy murmured.

"Who was Discord?" Kairi asked.

"A real mean and crazy spirit of chaos and disharmony," Rainbow Dash snorted. "He made the weather go completely _crazy_!"

"He made the weather absolutely terrifically _wonderful_ you mean!" Pinkie Pie countered. Her mouth started to salivate. "He made chocolate milk rain! Eternal chaos meant chocolate rain, Dashie. Chocolate. Rain."

"But what about all of the animals?" Fluttershy asked. "Don't you remember what he did to Angel bunny and his friends? They grew legs like deer."

"And don't forget that all the corn we had at the farm popped into popcorn just outta the blue," Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Why are we idly chatting about this anyway? I thought we were in a hurry to get the Elements."

Rarity stopped and gave Rainbow a patient look. "We were, Rainbow Dash, but now that these two darling pegasi and their handsome friend have arrived to assist us, I do believe we can take some time to discuss what we've done with the Elements of Harmony in the past, don't you agree?" She pointed a hoof at one of the windows before Rainbow Dash could say anything else. "That was him, the dreadful brute," she said, her hoof directed at a picture of a dragon-like creature holding marionette controllers above a pegasus, earth pony, and unicorn. "He stole the Elements, and manipulated each of us against everypony else. He single-hoofedly tore our friendship apart. If it wasn't for Twilight, well, I'm sure that Equestria would still be in a state of disarray."

"And you'd still be thinking that that big ol' rock was a bonafide diamond," Applejack mentioned.

Rarity frowned as the farmer passed her. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again."

"You're the only pony who didn't want to talk about it Rarity," Pinkie giggled. "It was funny. And I turned grey!" She chortled. "And Twilight had Spike take Rainbow Dash's place."

The cyan pegasus stopped in her tracks and turned towards the baby dragon. "You did what?"

Spike gulped. "I knew that this wouldn't end well if she found out," he said.

_Well,_ Naminé said light-heartedly to Kairi, _it looks like they've all got a healthy friendship._

Kairi continued walking forward to catch up to Sora, and loudly asked, "What was that about 'if it wasn't for Twilight' that you mentioned?"

Rainbow Dash turned away from Spike, said, "Oh," and quickly flew to catch up to the two walking pegasi at the front. Spike wiped his forehead in relief, as he did _not_ want to deal with an angry Rainbow Dash. "What Rarity meant was that if it wasn't for Twilight, we never would have gotten back together."

"Twi's the one who really brought all six of us together in the first place," Applejack said. She pointed at another one of the windows, showing the six ponies caging a black alicorn in a bubble of light. "Back when Nightmare Moon escaped from the moon and brought everlastin' night, Twilight was the only pony who knew what was goin' on and how to fix things. We'd all met her earlier in the day, since she'd just shown up in Ponyville, and were more than happy to help her out."

"We'd all known each other before," Fluttershy added, "but it was that first adventure together that really brought us together as a group, and…and I've never been happier."

"Fluttershy is correct," Rarity said. "Although we do have our disagreements from time to time, it has been a simply marvelous time together." Kairi nodded her head and nudged Sora's slightly. He nudged back.

"Here we are!" Pinkie exclaimed. The procession stopped right in front of the door.

"Eeyup," Applejack said. "Here we are. The Elements are kept right behind that door. However, Princess Celestia made it clear that she was the only one who could open it."

"Yeah, yeah, only one who could open the lock, I get it," Kairi said. She flexed her forehooves together, wishing that she had fingers to crack. She spotted a hole in the sun at the centre of the door. _Here we go._ "Alright everybody, stand back."

"Why?" Spike asked.

"Because I'm about to blow your freaking minds," Kairi answered. She raised her right foreleg and summoned the Oathkeeper right into her hoof. She gripped it tightly, still surprised that she was able to at all, and pointed the Keyblade right for the hole in the sun. A beam of light exited the Oathkeeper and filled the lock. Suddenly the lines edging the sun filled with light, continued on to fill the lines segmenting the door into six parts, and the circles then lit up in sequence. The entire door flared with a burst of light and opened. Inside was a pedestal holding a beautiful blue and gold chest with jewels glittering all over it.

"You opened it," Fluttershy whispered.

"Yes I did," Kairi answered proudly, dismissing her Keyblade. The box became enveloped by a blue glow, and it floated over to them in a cloud of Rarity's magic. The unicorn peered longingly at the chest for more than a moment before she opened it. Inside were the five necklaces and golden tiara that were the Elements of Harmony. Rarity levitated each Element out of the box and placed them upon their bearers: the red lightning bolt Element of Loyalty on Rainbow Dash, the jewelled butterfly Element of Kindness upon Fluttershy, the citrine apple Element of Honesty to Applejack, the sapphire balloon Element of Laughter against Pinkie Pie's chest, and finally the diamond Element of Generosity nestled gently over her own neck.

"Kairi, would you be a dear and carry this one in your saddlebags until we can find Twilight?" she asked the pegasus, levitating Twilight's tiara Element of Magic into the saddlebags before Kairi could even answer.

"Uh, sure," she answered anyway.

"All right everypony," Rainbow Dash announced while proudly puffing her chest forward, "we've got the Elements, now let's go find Twilight." They turned around and started to leave, but stopped when they saw a lone figure standing in the doorway.

-G-M-

"Come on!" Twilight said, galloping through the streets with Riku and Shining Armour behind her, "Canterlot Tower is this way. Inside are the Elements of Harmony. We'll get them and then head back to the party to give them to the others."

"Twilight, the Elements are locked up with a spell only Princess Celestia can undo," Shining Armour reminded her. "The entire Royal Guard knows that. What makes you think that we'll even be able to get them?"

"The Princess isn't the only one who can undo the spell," Twilight answered, glancing back at her older brother. "She took me aside after we arrived and taught me the counterspell. Princess Celestia said that events may transpire after we'd questioned Riku and the others that would delay us in procuring the Elements from the tower, so she left me with the decision on when we should get them, confident that we _would_ be able to reach them."

"So you think that since more Heartless have shown up, now is the perfect time," Riku said. Twilight could tell that it wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.

"Right."

Canterlot Tower reached for the sky just ahead of them, its white walls shining in the sunlight. Twilight skidded to a stop, eyes staring forward unblinkingly in shock. Her friends were all leaving the tower with the Elements of Harmony already around their necks, and standing next to them was—

Shining Armor whinnied happily and trotted past his stunned sister. "Cadance! What a surprise seeing you here."

"Shining Armor!" the youthful pink alicorn said brightly, Peewee flying off of her shoulder where the phoenix hatchling had previously perched on the very topmost of Spike's spines. "What are you doing here? Oh wait, never mind, Royal Guard business, right?"

"Something like that," he replied, moving to stand right in front of her. "Actually, my friend Riku here, my sister, and I were just coming to pick up what it looks like you've already nabbed."

"Your sister?" Princess Cadance asked excitedly. She looked past Shining Armor and saw the younger unicorn. Her wide smile left Riku stunned at how bright it was, and she took one great leap past Twilight's older brother, utilizing her wings to their fullest, to come close to Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight!"

Hearing her old foalsitter call her name, Twilight snapped out of her stupor. A broad grin to match Cadance's overcame her face. "Cadance!"

The pink alicorn landed, and suddenly the two of them had bent their legs to come close to the ground, eyes unblinkingly staring into each other's with rampant excitement. "Sunshine, sunshine, lady bugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

"What was that about?" Sora asked Riku, he and Kairi leaving the tower with Twilight's other friends and staring at the spectacle of the two ponies laughing and embracing.

Riku smirked. "Cadance was Twilight's old babysitter," he answered.

"Really?" Rarity asked. She turned her head to the lavender unicorn. Her voice became almost a whine. "Twilight, how come you never told us that a princess foalsat you when you were little?"

"I never thought that it was that important Rarity," Twilight answered, removing herself from her old foalsitter's embrace. "But Cadance isn't just my old foalsitter anymore; she's going to be my new big sister!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, from most of the group. Pinkie Pie was the only one who made any sort of noise, and _that_ was a very exuberant, "Woo-hoo! Yay Twilight! You the pony! Congratulations! Wait, how is she going to be your new big sister?" Twilight laughed slightly to herself, and sighed.

"Everypony, this is my BBBFF, Big-Brother-Best-Friend-Forever," she clarified when nobody but Shining Armor and Cadance gave her looks of comprehension, "Shining Armor. Shining Armor, these are my friends Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Sora, Kairi, and," she giggled, "Peewee." The phoenix hatchling chirped.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Shining Armor said with a bow, "and even though you've apparently already met her, this is my lovely fiancée, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known to her friends as Cadance."

"Ohhhh," Pinkie said, "so that's how Cadance is going to be your sister, Twilight."

"Well congrats then," Sora spoke up. Kairi nodded her head next to him.

"Oh yes, congratulations Twilight, Shining Armor, Princess," Fluttershy said, nodding her head. "I hope you'll both be very happy together."

"Thank you," Cadance answered, smiling.

"Yeah, grats Twi," Rainbow Dash added.

"Yes, congratulations Twilight," Rarity agreed. "I do hope that we will all receive invitations to the wedding. Oh, a royal wedding, what I wouldn't give to be able to attend." Riku nudged Shining Armour's flank with the side of his head. He pointed at Cadance.

"Way to pick 'em, tiger."

Shining Armor seemed very perturbed by Riku's choice of nickname. Sora and Kairi both snorted into their hooves at the look on his face.

"So is that what was in the letter we got earlier this morning?" Spike asked. "Shining Armor here telling you that he was getting married?"

"Yes," Twilight answered, "though since I was kept from reading the letter, I didn't find out until I met with him and my parents just a while ago."

"That's nice," Applejack said. She looked over at the couple, both of them smiling happily at all the congratulations Twilight's friends were giving them. "So, when's the wedding goin' down?"

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his head. "We actually haven't set a date yet, but we're thinking about having it in early Spring."

Rarity gasped. "Spring! I heartily agree; such a lovely season to get married in. But… but that's so far away," she added. "Why, next Spring won't be for another six months. The air back in home was already starting to get a little cooler."

Cadance chuckled slightly. "Well this is going to be a wedding between _royalty_ and the Captain of the Palace Guard after all. There's a lot of preparation that'll need to be done. It's not as though we can get all of that done within a week or two. Besides, we need to leave time for our guests to clear their own schedules and plan around attending. They'll have their own hurdles to overcome too."

Shining Armor nodded. "Also, even though Cadance said yes only two days ago, considering what's been going on recently, with the Heartless showing up and everything, I just know that Princess Celestia's going to be having me doing double duty making sure that the castle and Canterlot are protected. That job's going to keep me busy, what with the higher-ups pulling my stallions away from their posts to go all over Equestria with the Pegasus Guards. We'll practically be left with just a token defence here."

"Well, I hope it's not too little," Kairi said. "The last thing we'd want is for a place as beautiful as this to be brought to ruin."

Shining Armor laughed and gave the pink pegasus a confident smirk. "Don't worry about that Kairi. After what I've seen, we'll be able to handle them no problem."

Rarity looked up suddenly. "Oh, yes, I just remembered." She cleared her throat as her horn began to glow with blue light. "Twilight, we got this out of Canterlot Tower for you." The tiara of the Element of Magic levitated out of Kairi's saddlebags and into the air. Twilight grasped it from Rarity in her own magic's glow, and set it down on her head.

"Thanks Rarity," she said. "We were just coming to get these since Princess Celestia taught me the counterspell earlier. How did _you_ guys get your hooves on them?"

Pinkie laughed. "With the Keyblade of course!" she said. "Kairi just made it appear into her hoof in this big flash of light, _sheen_, and then it fired a laser beam right into the sun on the vault door, _pweem_, and the doors all lit up and opened for us, _whoosh_!"

Riku watched with amusement as Twilight looked at Kairi in stunned wonder. He could only imagine the thoughts going through her head at the thought that the Keyblade could break through an impenetrable spell that her esteemed mentor had cast. "Consider this," Sora told her, "I once used the Keyblade to unlock a Coliseum in the Underworld that _Zeus himself_ had locked away. Granted I didn't _know_ that that's what I did when I saved Meg, but…"

"Who's Zeus?" Fluttershy asked.

Riku frowned slightly. They didn't know who Almighty _Zeus_ was? "The Almighty Lord of the Heavens, King of the Gods. Lord of Thunder and Storms. His wife is Hera, Goddess of Women and Marriage, and his older brothers are Hades, the Lord of the Dead, and Poseidon."

"God of Horses and Master of the Seas and Oceans," Kairi stated. "Triton and Thetis are his vassals, along with Calypso, Circe, and the other sea-gods and nymphs."

The Equestrian ponies and dragon were looking at the trio as though they'd all grown extra heads. "I've never even heard of any of these ponies you're talking about," Twilight said.

Sora stomped his hooves. "They're not ponies; they're gods." He glanced upwards. "And right now, I think our patron Poseidon's supposed to be watching over us."

"You and you native Islanders can worship Poseidon all you want," Kairi said simply, poking Sora in the ribs playfully with the tip of her hoof, "_I_ worship Athena."

"You know that's a bad idea," Riku told her. "Those two have been eternal rivals ever since Athens. Besides, Poseidon has a stronger connection to us now that we're ponies."

Kairi tisked in a motherly manner and she began to rummage through her saddlebags. "Well, your Lord Poseidon sure didn't look after _you_ earlier," she said. Her voice became muffled somewhat as her snout emerged from her white saddlebag with a green jar clenched in her teeth. "Yuv been scratched uh pretty had der."

"What? You mean these things?" Riku asked, glancing back at the scratches the Soldier he'd impaled with his horn had left on his body. "I've had worse."

Kairi placed the bottle on the ground and produced a different one, this one white, from her saddlebag, and put it down next to the other. "I know," she remarked disdainfully, "but we're not letting those go untreated anyway. Come here."

"Ooh, what are these?" Pinkie Pie asked, picking up the white bottle.

"That green one's a healing potion and the white one there's ethanol," Riku answered, taking a step back. "Nu-uh, Kairi. These will heal fine on their own. You don't need to worry about them."

"Too late. Applejack, could you please hold him down?"

"Now why would Ah want tah do that?" Applejack asked.

Riku sucked in his breath from sudden pain, instantly regretting turning his head to look at the cowpony. Kairi was already at his withers, wiping at the scratches through his coat with a cloth swab so wet with the alcohol it was almost dripping. "Dammit Kairi!" he hissed. "Stop it with your ninja heals!" Kairi popped the potion bottle over his mouth, and a slightly viscous green liquid poured onto his tongue. Riku tried to spit it out, but Kairi clamped his mouth shut with her hooves.

"Don't be such a whiny baby Riku," she scolded him whilst firmly keeping his mouth shut so he could not eject the potion. "Now drink it and get it over with." Riku glowered mournfully at her, but swallowed anyway. Almost immediately he could feel the potion start to take effect, signified by the sudden itchy feeling he was getting around the stinging scratches he'd taken. A couple of seconds later the sensation was gone, and his body was feeling as well as it ever had before.

"What was that about?" Twilight asked as Kairi stepped back from the unicorn.

Sora chuckled, and Riku sent him a death glare that he ignored. "Potions taste like garbage," Sora answered. Several of the ponies laughed at his explanation and the faces Riku was pulling.

"Well," Applejack said after they'd calmed down, "we've got the Elements now. Ah reckon that we should head on back tah Princess Celestia and figure out our next move."

"Me too," Fluttershy agreed. Rarity and Pinkie Pie nodded their heads.

"Then it's settled," declared Twilight. She turned away from the tower. "Come on everypony."

"You all go ahead," Cadance said. "Your brother and I have some things we need to discuss."

"Well, alright then," Twilight replied. She started off and threw her head back over her shoulder. "See you later."

-G-M-

Luna yawned as she sat in the tree she had been sleeping in, watching as her older sister paced back and forth beneath the leafy green boughs. She was only partially frustrated with Celestia for waking her from her sleep, though she had at least gotten a good four hours of it. If she had been in her room instead of this wonderful tree even less time would have passed for her to have enjoyed napping.

"Hm," Luna hummed to herself, snuggling deeper into the thick blankets and pillows she had expertly laid down upon the tree branch, "I never would have thought that this would happen."

"It had to have happened eventually," Celestia said to the ground, still pacing beneath Luna's tree in the gardens. "It has been thousands of years, my sister. Eventually a unicorn had to have been chosen ever since we gave it up."

"That is not what I am saying, Tia," Luna told her sister. "What I meant was—"

Celestia sighed loudly. "I know what you meant, Luna. For it to happen to Twilight Sparkle of all ponies… I had never thought to consider this as the reason for her immense magical power and talent. Though, in hindsight it does bring everything into focus. How else could a foal have enough magical power within to hatch a dragon egg and immediately cause the hatchling to grow as tall as a tower?" She stopped her pacing and slammed her head against the trunk of a tree next to Luna's. Celestia didn't even seem to feel her head striking it, but Luna figured that the tree sure had with the way its trunk appeared to be close to snapping as it bent back.

"I should have realized it sooner!" Celestia berated herself in a frustrated growl. "A Keeper of the Art! A Keeper of the Art, Luna!"

The midnight diarch nodded her head in a more subdued way than the last five times she had done so. Celestia was getting far too worked up over this. "Yes, a Keeper of the Art, as we once were."

Celestia winced. "I should have seen it from the start," she said bitterly. "I should have been grooming her for what will come this entire time."

Luna frowned and spread her wings. "Celestia!" The younger alicorn dropped down from her perch in the tree and stared up into her older sister's grieved face. "This is not something you could have foreseen. Your prized pupil being revealed as a Keeper of the Art is not something that happens every millennium. Nopony could have predicted it. I believe you even thought that Cadance, Rhymestone, Quiet Treble, Ruby Scales and others from my blood were Keepers at one point."

Celestia shook her head slowly as it hung down. "I will admit that at first I did. You know that it is not often that we alicorns are born, dear sister, and so I suspected it at first, but discovered eventually that it was not the case for any of your blood, and so I let the notion of Equestria bearing Keepers of the Art again slip. But we were Keepers once ourselves, Luna," Celestia countered, finally raising her head to gaze down upon her younger sister. "It is something that I should have seen in her. I remember what it was like, to have such raw ability and power...before the Elements."

Luna sighed. Celestia truly had gotten old, if she was looking back fondly of those days in ages past when the two of them had been guardians upholding the flow of magic in the universe. "Tia," Luna tried once more, "you must stop this. Berating yourself is useless. Now that we know, we must take action to guide her and Trixie upon the path they must tread."

"Their path has already been decided," Celestia admitted. "They must go with Sora and his friends. If they are gathering the Keepers, then it means that something dreadful is going on amongst the worlds as a whole. Equestria has always seen relative peace amidst the turbulent forces of Light and Darkness across the Realm of Light, Luna. We know that."

"What we did _not_ know, however," Luna said, "was that we had the ability to use a Keyblade while we were them. That must be something new."

"Or just something that we were not required to know or use," Celestia answered. "Our magic had always been our weapon; we had no need of magic swords."

Luna conceded that point with a sharp nod of her head. "But Celestia, now that Twilight Sparkle knows that she is one of them, she must be told or the changes will come as a very real shock to her and to Trixie."

"Twilight will be fine, Luna," Celestia said, though from her tone of voice Luna could tell that her sister was still trying to convince herself of that. "They should not begin to occur for another few months at least. Sora's business should have run its course by then, and Twilight will be back here where we can instruct her and Trixie better."

Luna wasn't entirely sure what to think of her sister's plan with keeping Twilight Sparkle in the dark about what will become of her. Then again, she had already been bombarded with quite a bit of information that day, so withholding a little more might help the unicorn hold onto her sanity a while longer. "As you say, and we shall hope that you are right. Have you any other plans for them?"

Celestia nodded her head, finally appearing somewhat calm. "Yes, I have. I've already seen Canterlot's best jeweler, but…" she smiled somewhat, "I was hoping that I could get the help of our finest smith as well."

Luna couldn't keep the look of pride away from her face. "You seek the aid of my talents, do you? They may be a little rusty, Celestia, after having been away from the forge for a thousand years."

Celestia laughed. "Come now Luna, I am not asking you to re-forge the Elements of Harmony, but Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon will be going into battle. It would be comforting for them, and for me, if they were protected."

"Are the items thou art requesting to be part of their regalia as well?" Luna asked. Celestia's nod was all that Luna needed to confirm her suspicions as to Celestia's intentions. Luna could feel her excitement welling up. A smithing duty! She hadn't touched her forge in _eons_! The very thought was making her switch back to the Old Equish style of speech. "Very well then. Do we still have access to our forge, or shall we be forced to seize a mere commoner's place of work and tools?"

"I reopened the Hearth of the Mountain earlier today," Celestia told her. "It has been undisturbed since the Nightmare took you from us." Luna nodded gratefully and smiled. This was going to wreck havoc upon her sleep cycle, but it would be well worth it.

"Thou shalt be responsible for raising and lowering the moon and for keeping its light full. Thou must also allow us to utilize all sun and moonlight that we require. We are also to have no cloud cover while we are working."

"Agreed," Celestia said with a nod of her head.

"Then thy order shall be ready in three days and nights if we begin now," Luna reported. She spread her wings and took into the air. She laughed as the wind flowed through her mane and against her face. The pounding ring of hammer blows, the heat of her forge in the very heart of Mount Ponylon, the precious metals that would bend to her will… Luna got pleasant shudders from her withers to the very tips of her primaries at the thought.

-G-M-

_That's all for now folks! Stay tuned for more!_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	9. Courses Laid

_And here we go with another chapter of the story. Thank you all for the comments and I'm glad you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!_

_Disclaimer: "E4"_

"_(GASP) You SUNK my ownership of MLP!"_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 8: Courses Laid

"Come on now, you can do it! Are you pegasi or porcupines?" Rainbow Dash pumped her forelegs up and down as she flew backwards above Sora and Kairi, encouraging both of them to get some use out of those wings of theirs that she hadn't seen them flap even once! For a moment she wished that she had her hat and whistle with her, but she didn't so she'd have to double her efforts with just her voice. "You call that flapping? Harder!"

"Um, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said quietly, fluttering up to her on her own wings, "I don't think they're quite getting it."

Rainbow Dash snorted and peered down at the two pegasi, each of them flapping their wings while they walked towards Celestia's throne room and audience chamber. It looked as though no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't get enough lift to propel their bodies into the air. "Reminds me of Scootaloo," Dash muttered to herself, thinking of the orange filly and how all she could attain was a buzzing hover of just her abdomen. However, Scoots was just a filly, and these two were grown pegasi for Celestia's sake! If Horsepower was able to fly with 9.8 Wingpower with his tiny little wings propelling his huge body, then these two _certainly_ should be able to get off the ground! "Harder! You'll never get anywhere with weak flapping like that!"

She had wondered which one of them would snap at her first, considering how hard they were working and how little progress they were making, and Sora proved to be the one to break. "Weak flapping!? I'm busting my wings off trying to take off and you're just sitting there lazily hovering with butterfly strokes! Why in Tartarus is this so damn hard?"

Dash scoffed and dropped onto the ground. She flared her wings out, making sure to showcase every single feather on both, and deliberately preened them. "Because you're doing it wrong, _aaaand_, check out these babies. I've been training to make them the strongest, most powerful wings in Equestria since the day I first heard about the Wonderbolts, which was the day I was born! I am the fastest thing alive thanks to these babies."

"Rainbow Dash…" Applejack interrupted.

"I can pump out Sonic Rainbooms just by gliding," Rainbow Dash continued undaunted.

"Rainbow Dash…" Rarity tried to begin.

"You first timers can't compete against me when it comes to wing strength."

"Dash!" Twilight barked.

Rainbow looked at her, annoyed that so many ponies were interrupting her awesome moment. "What?"

"None of that boasting about your own ability is going to help them fly," Twilight told her, the unicorn apparently almost as frustrated at Rainbow as she was with Twilight for interrupting her. "You can't just command them to fly and expect them to obey. And you **can't** do Sonic Rainbooms while you're gliding either!"

_Not yet anyway,_ thought Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight's right Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy commented. "They've never flown before. You need to treat them as though you were teaching a tiny little foal who's just starting to learn."

"Ugh," Dash moaned, "a foal? Seriously?" Fluttershy nodded her head, and when she saw that all of her other friends were doing likewise Rainbow Dash facehoofed and sighed. She turned her attention back to Sora and Kairi, both of whom were panting from the exertion of rapidly beating their wings and getting nowhere fast from it. Sweat beaded their coats and saliva lathered in their mouths. "Alright, look, your wings aren't that strong yet, but give it time and practice and you'll be flying in no time. Just feel the natural air currents as they flow around your body, and…this part's kinda hard to explain or understand, but for the first little bit you need to kinda ask or even _will_ them to help you. Our wings aren't big or strong enough at first to generate the lift we need to get off the ground, so we need that extra teensy bit of help at the start, but soon you'll be up in the sky without any help easy-peasy-one-two-threesy." To demonstrate, she took off with one quick flap of her own wings, and hovered easily above the group once more.

Both new pegasi glanced at each other, sharing a look for a long moment, and then Kairi said, "We'll work on that. Thanks Rainbow Dash."

"Heh," Dash laughed, not even sure if her advice made sense to anypony, including her, "no problem. Also, try to look for thermals wherever you can. They really help everypony keep from getting too tired and gain altitude. Then it's easy gliding from there."

"Alright," Twilight said, coming up to a pair of double doors guarded by two unicorns in the golden armour of the Royal Guards, each carrying a broadhead-tipped spear, "we're here." Twilight turned to one of the unicorns, a golden orange mare with a red and yellow mane, and smiled at her. "Captain Fire Opal, we're here to see Princess Celestia."

The unicorn guard smiled back at her, and her horn lit up with teal light. "I gathered that, Twilight Sparkle. Go on in. You caught her at a good time; the Princess just resumed holding court fifteen minutes ago."

"I thought most of the guards were being deployed across Equestria?" Rainbow Dash asked, peering at the unicorn while her magic opened the doors.

"Most, yes," the Guard Captain answered, "but we're all divided into our different companies and divisions. I'm the Captain of Princess Celestia's personal guard."

"And how many of you are there?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Four," divulged Fire Opal. Pinkie placed a hoof to her mouth in thought.

"Hm, guess I don't need to throw as big a party as I was planning then."

"Is the pay good?" Dash asked. Captain Fire Opal gave her a look, and then she nodded her head towards the open door.

"Go on." Everypony could hear the sudden chill in her voice, and quickly entered the audience chamber.

"Nice going RD," Applejack muttered as the doors swung closed behind them.

"Hey, it was an honest question!" Dash fired back. "Personal guard to the Princess? Why wouldn't it pay well?"

"How come there are so many captains?" Fluttershy asked meekly, glancing back at the doors.

"Captains are like mice," Twilight answered. "They're everywhere, but many consider them the most important rank a pony can have because they lead and command their ponies right alongside them as they do their duty. Most ponies of higher rank sit back and plan operations while captains and their lieutenants implement them." Everypony looked at her incredulously. She lifted a hoof and jerked her head back in bewilderment. "What? My brother's a captain. You think he wouldn't make sure I knew exactly what his job and place in the Royal Guards in comparison to all the others was?"

"Well that makes sense," Applejack said, "but would you look at this line? It's gonna take us forever to see the Princess like this."

Rainbow Dash landed and frowned, shaking her head. Applejack was right. There were at least twenty other ponies in front of them to petition Princess Celestia with their concerns.

"Should we come back later?" Spike asked.

"No Spike," Twilight answered. "We'll just have to wait our turn in line."

"But Twilight," Rarity began, "you're Princess Celestia's own personal student. Surely you have a direct line of communication to her."

"Of course I do Rarity," Twilight answered, "but I'm not going to abuse that privilege just to cut in line of other ponies who may have legitimate concerns on their hooves. It's Princess Celestia's royal duty to listen to her subjects and hear their opinions and concerns."

"Your world's in danger," Sora said simply, "I'm pretty sure that absolves you from 'abusing' your connections."

"Wow Sora," Riku commented dryly, "you used the word 'absolves' correctly. I didn't even know that you knew it." Sora rolled his eyes.

Rainbow leaned in towards Twilight. "Hey, what does 'absolves' mean, anyway?"

Twilight groaned and facehoofed, to which Dash couldn't help but feel somewhat insulted. "He meant that I wouldn't be taking advantage of my closeness to Princess Celestia since it's an emergency."

"Oh," Dash said. "Why didn't he say that in the first place?"

"He did, Rainbow Dash," Rarity mumbled, "you just didn't understand him." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to fire back some snappy line that she was sure she would come up with in time, but couldn't as a louder voice beat her to the punch, echoing throughout the audience chamber.

"Presenting Mr. Jet Set and Mrs. Upper Crust."

"A thousand pardons for interrupting your royal affairs, Your Majesty," Jet Set said after bowing before the solar diarch of Equestria, "but my wife Upper Crust and I were dining, quite peacefully, at Three Horns café along Silver Jewel Road earlier today when the most hideous black animals ran by and began terrorizing all of the patrons. My wife was in such a state of shock that she almost tore her Lacella Fursace gown while we were leaving before they could knock over our table. We would like to see these barbaric miscreant animals removed from the Canterlot Gardens before next year's party."

"Lacella Fursace," Rarity whispered, diamonds in her eyes as she stared at the dress and jewelry ensemble Upper Crust was wearing.

"Who?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Why she's only one of the most well known and talented fashionistas in Canterlot!" Rarity almost shouted. "Her designs are some of the most stunning every season on the runway."

"I don't think that matters much right now, Rarity," Twilight grumbled.

"I understand your concerns," Princess Celestia said to Jet Set, the princess' voice carrying across the chamber even to where Rainbow Dash stood. "I ask you not to overly worry. The Royal Guard has been dispatched to deal with these animals and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have been summoned."

"The Elements of Harmony?" Upper Crust asked.

"You mean those barbaric ruffians from Ponyville?" Jet Set clarified.

"Barbaric ruffians?" Rarity growled, Rainbow approving of her sudden change in attitude. "Oh, it is on."

"Don't rise to the bait, Rarity," Sora said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Guy's not worth it."

"But he just insulted us!" Rainbow Dash argued. "You expect us to take that lying down?"

"What a party pooper," Pinkie muttered.

Princess Celestia's voice overrode everything else. "I think you might want to be a bit more careful around whom you say that to," she told Jet Set. "One of them is my personal student, and she and the rest of her friends are right behind you."

Dash _loved_ the smirk she gave when all other ponies in the room turned and looked at them.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, it's good of you to come," Princess Celestia called, beckoning for them to come closer. They did as she bid. "I see that you've retrieved the Elements from Canterlot Tower. The spell worked, then."

"Actually Princess, I have no idea if the spell you taught me would work or not," Twilight apologized. "Kairi unlocked the door to the chamber where the Elements were kept, not me. I didn't arrive until after the others had already recovered them."

"You unlocked it?" Princess Celestia asked, turning her head towards the pink pegasus. "But how did you—? Never mind, Kairi. I see that the Keyblade is a more powerful tool than I first took it for."

"You betcha," Kairi replied, beaming with pride.

"Princess Celestia," Jet Set began again, though more cautiously this time, Dash noted, "I see that your…Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have arrived, but who are _these_ ponies with them? I believed that there were only six Elements of Harmony, not nine."

"And what is with that _hideous_ chapeau?" Upper Crust queried, looking positively revolted at the beret on Kairi's head. Kairi snorted angrily and looked about to start a fight when somepony else spoke.

"Well I should say that they're with them because they are more than likely assisting them," a completely different voice with the accent of Canterlot's elite speculated. "Considering how friendly they're being with one another and the Princess, they must be quite special ponies as well."

"Fancypants!" Rarity exclaimed cheerfully. "How wonderful it is to see you again."

"The pleasure, I can assure you, is mine, Rarity," Fancypants greeted. He turned towards Princess Celestia. "If you will excuse me, Your Highness, my concerns have been allayed for the moment."

"Very well my friend," replied Princess Celestia, nodding her head at him. "I look forward to our next meeting. Give my regards and well wishes to Fleur; I hear she's expecting."

"That she is," the well-dressed stallion replied warmly, "and we're both very excited for it." Fancypants nodded at Princess Celestia, and then he gave a cheery smile and nod towards Rarity and her friends before leaving. Princess Celestia turned to Jet Set and his wife. "Do you have any more concerns to bring before me today, Jet Set? Upper Crust?"

"I suppose not," drawled Jet Set, turning his eyes onto the group of ponies that had come forward at Princess Celestia's summons.

"You may take your leave then," Celestia answered, the subtle hint of firmness in her voice. Both opulent ponies' eyes widened and they made haste to exit. Rainbow couldn't help but smirk superiorly after them, especially after Kairi subtly half-tripped Upper Crust and bumped into her, only to apologetically help the uptight pony back to her hooves so that she could leave.

"You sure showed them who's the boss here, Princess," Rainbow Dash said smugly.

Princess Celestia gave Rainbow Dash what the pegasus assumed to be a humoured smile from atop her throne, and turned her attention towards the other petitioners. "I must apologize, but I shall be taking a short recess to consult with the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and direct them as we deal with this upsetting turn of events. I must ask you to leave the audience chamber for the moment. You will all be re-summoned shortly so that we may continue."

It took a minute for all of the other ponies to leave the audience chamber, leaving only two Royal Guards behind at the base of the stairs leading to Celestia's throne. She began to stride down the stairs towards them, speaking as she went. "It is good that you've retrieved the Elements," Celestia told them, "for I fear that we'll have need of their power soon."

"What do you mean, Princess?" Twilight asked. Celestia shook her head.

"I'm not sure, and that's what worries me." She looked at Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "We know very little about the Heartless besides what you three have told us. So far, it appears as though my little ponies have only encountered some of the weakest strains of their species, correct?"

"Well there was a pair of stronger Heartless that I'm sure are specific to your world that attacked us in the ballroom," Sora made mention, "but for the most part it looks that way." Celestia nodded her head.

"I've received several reports already from some of our Royal Guard teams that were dispatched," Celestia announced. "It seems as though none of the settlements in Equestria have been bothered by these creatures besides Canterlot so far. This does not meet with my expectations. Sora, is this normal behaviour for the Heartless?"

Sora hung his head for a few moments, and pawed at the ground while he came up with an answer. "In a way, it sort of is," he said at last. "The Heartless seek hearts, so they would go to major population centres, but they go after stronger hearts above others. Since me, Kairi, Riku, and Rei are in Canterlot, and Trixie, Twilight, and the rest of the Elements of Harmony, and you and your sister are here, Princess Celestia; the only other place that they'd really concentrate around would be the keyhole when they find it."

"So that's it then?" Twilight asked loudly. "It doesn't matter where I go, I'll just draw them to me like I've got a big bullseye painted on my flank!" She glanced around. "I can't go back to Ponyville, or head off to Las Pegasus, or hide in a bunker underneath Hoofington, or even run to Zebrica or the Great Tundra! They'll just keep following me."

"Don't think about it too much," Kairi said quietly. Rainbow kept her gaze on Twilight Sparkle as the unicorn rounded on Kairi, Twilight's eyes wide and nearly hysterical.

"Don't think about it!? How can I not think about it? I'll have twisted creatures of darkness coming at me from out of thin air! It's not like you've been…" her voice suddenly trailed off at the solemn looks she was receiving from the trio. Rainbow Dash felt a pit open up in her gut as the three Keyblade-Wielding ponies gazed quietly at the unicorn that would soon join their number. Pity wasn't something Rainbow was comfortable feeling, and she couldn't imagine the fear that must stay with them day-in, day-out, knowing that they were constantly hunted by the creatures that they hunted in return.

"Don't think about it too much," Kairi repeated. She was just as quiet the first time as now, but now her words reverberated 'round the hall as though she'd shouted. "They leave us alone, for the most part, because no matter how mindless and instinctual they are, they know that they can't beat us unless there are hundreds of them or one or two really big ones. So they ignore our hearts, and go after the powerful and strong hearts of different worlds to get at Kingdom Hearts. However, when we show up to put them down and stop them or their masters from meddling, they come after us in force. So, don't think about it too much. It's a circle. We try to stop them from doing terrible things, and they try to stop us from stopping them."

"Well you won't do it alone," Rainbow Dash said quickly, trying to evict that pitiful feeling she was experiencing in her stomach. "So long as we're here, we've got your backs."

"You said it," Applejack added. Rarity and Fluttershy agreed. "And that goes for you too, Twi'," Applejack reminded her. "Even if we'll never fully understand everything, Ah can tell ya that we'll still be here for you sugarcube."

Twilight hung her head, and Rainbow Dash could see a smile slowly appearing on it. "Oh you guys," she mumbled. Sora placed a hoof on her shoulder, drawing her gaze up to his.

"And we'll be with you every step of the way," he told her with a reassuring grin. "Our friends are our strength; we don't go it alone if we can help it."

Princess Celestia nodded her head. "That is a very wise sentiment, Sora, and I believe I agree with your assessment." She looked over the assembled ponies, and nodded to herself. "Even with the Royal Guard dispersed, we should be safe enough here in Canterlot with myself and the Guard that's remained. Therefore, though I have no authority over you or your friends, Sora, I ask that in the morning you depart Canterlot with the Elements of Harmony as escort and search for this world's keyhole."

Pinkie Pie gasped. "Really! We get to go with them? That's so cool! Our first stop can be Ponyville and oh my gosh, there are so many exciting things that I can show you! First we have to go to Sugarcube Corner so you can meet the Cakes and I can show you their twin foals Pound and Pumpkin Cake and get you to try some of Mrs. Cake's delicious cupcakes. Then we can go to Vinyl's studio and she can give you a tour of her DJ equipment and we can record a couple of tracks with you all, oh! Lyra would totally love to meet you guys so you can have a nice long chat about humans, but oh! And then there's Daisy's flower shop and the bowling alley and Twilight runs the library and Rarity's got a fashion boutique, or we could just go back to Sugarcube Corner and make sweets that we can surprise the foals in Cheerilee's class up at the school or—"

"How do you make her stop?" Riku asked with his hooves in his ears.

"It's really difficult," Rainbow Dash answered, eyelids twitching. Pinkie Pie continued to babble uncontrollably, her words spewing out of her mouth at a rate that was making it hard even for Rainbow Dash to understand where she was at now in her list of 'Ponyville attractions to newcomers'.

"PINKIE!" Twilight roared.

"—and then Gummy jumped out of the meteor and fired a laser beam from his mouth that totally destroyed the rogue rampaging cupcake and I went HAAAH! Yes, Twilight?"

Rainbow Dash blinked. She'd never heard any of Pinkie's rants end like that one. However, none of them got a chance to answer her after she'd finally shut up as the sudden sound of cymbals and a quick drum beat changed all thought in Dash's mind to _what the hay is that?_

"_Please don't say 'you are lazy'  
datte hontou wa Crazy  
__hakuchoutachi wa sou  
__mienai toko de BATashi suru n desu."_

"What is that sound?" Rarity asked, watching as Sora quickly dug his nose into his right saddlebag, which appeared to be the source of the rock 'n roll song.

"I'm not sure," Rainbow said, bouncing slightly on her hooves, "and I've got no clue what they're singing, but I like the tune."

"It's his phone," Riku answered as Sora pulled out an object in his teeth and quickly raised a hoof while it continued to play the song, "and that music means that Rei's calling him."

"Phone?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dang it," Sora muttered, trying to work the odd device with his hooves. "Stupid…need fingers…aha!" The music stopped playing, and Sora raised the rectangular device up to his face. "Yes Rei? Uh-huh. Okay, we're on our way." He pulled it back from his face, and the heavily determined but somewhat confused expression he wore as he tried to press something on the device was simply priceless in Rainbow's opinion.

"Touch-screen cell phones were not made for ponies," he muttered when finally finished, the device back in his saddlebags. He placed a necklace bearing a three-pointed silver crown around his neck, then dropped down onto all four of his legs. "There, that's better. I was wondering where it was."

"You don't look like you without it," Kairi agreed.

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. "So, if that was Rei speaking to you on that device, then what does she want?"

"She's in the infirmary with Trixie, and apparently she has something amazing to show me."

-G-M-

Rei paced back and forth by the door to the infirmary. Sora was coming, she knew he would, and that would mean that she'd get to show him what Trixie had just taught her. She'd never seen Sora do what she'd just done; she'd never seen Kairi or even Naminé do it either. He had to be impressed with her.

_But what if it doesn't work this time? What if I can't get it to work like I just did? What if I freeze up and forget everything I just learned? It's not that much, but it's still a lot more than I could ever do before._

Rei glanced at Trixie, the mare lying on the bed and watching her with something like an amused smirk playing across her face. Rei looked at her anxiously for a couple of seconds before she continued her pacing. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the seconds ticked by with the soft _clip-clop_ of her hooves.

_It doesn't matter what she said, about how I picked it up so quickly from her instructions. Wait, maybe I should take a couple of deep breaths first and remember the steps. Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out._ She gave a shuddering sigh and glanced over at the spoon on the table. _Okay, first search inside for the focal point of my energy. There, got it, just between my eyes. Now, grasp inside at the arcane font and draw its energy out through my horn._ Rei's eyes were closed, so she couldn't see that her small cyan horn was now being surrounded by a faint yellow aura. _Now, feel for the object in your mind's eye, and take hold of it._

She felt the spoon atop the bedside table that Trixie's empty soup bowl was resting on. It felt as though she had covered a hand in warm liquid and was picking it up with that limb, even though she knew that she was still standing several feet away from the spoon. Her limbs were beginning to tingle and a slight pinching sensation was occurring right between her eyes, but she ignored it and opened her eyes anyway. Giddy with pride was the only way she could describe how she felt when she saw the spoon floating in the air in a yellow cloud of magic light.

"Wow. That is impressive!"

The spoon fell to the ground, Rei's concentration broken. _That's Sora's voice._ The filly whirled around, surprised to see her brother standing at the door, Kairi beside him and the other ponies coming through after. She stood in shock for a second, her mind running in circles. _He saw it! He saw it! I wasn't ready to show him yet! Wait…he __**saw**__ it!_

"Sora-nii-chan!" she exclaimed, cantering towards him in a sudden blur. "Did you see it? Did you see me levitating the spoon?" He chuckled.

"I did. I'm impressed. It's something that I've never been able to do. Maybe I should ask Donald if he knows any levitation magic."

"You honestly think that Donald knows magic like that?" Riku asked. Sora shrugged. Twilight Sparkle walked closer to the bed and stopped a respectful distance away.

"How are you feeling Trixie?"

The other unicorn smiled bashfully and nodded her head. She turned her head to the side, but still met Twilight's eyes. "I am doing much better, thank you for asking Twilight Sparkle. I admit that I should probably thank you for the kindness you and Princess Celestia have shown me, so thank you."

"You're quite welcome, Trixie," Twilight answered. "Did you teach Rei that, or did she figure it out on her own?"

"She learned from me," Trixie answered, looking at the beaming filly. "She is an excitable student and quickly grasps the basic concepts, but my first apprentice has done well today." Rei felt another bubble of pride well up at the praise, and blushed when she felt Sora's hoof stroke the top of her head.

"I'm glad that I've been able to spend a bit more time around you, too," Twilight continued. "You're not as bad a pony as I had first figured after all of the false boasting you did. I'm sorry I judged you."

"It's alright, Twilight Sparkle. You were right to pass judgement on me if you did not like my act. I also apologize for the words I spoke to you when I left Ponyville. I was confused and angry at being upstaged by a pony who'd run away from my challenge."

"Well then," Riku spoke up, "since we're all going to be travelling together and it seems that you've gotten a couple of things straightened out between you two, why don't you give being friends a shot?"

Rei smiled as Trixie gasped, a bit of shock and, was that hope, evident in the unicorn's voice when she next spoke. "I would…I would like to be your friend, Twilight Sparkle, if you'll have me." She extended a hoof.

Twilight frowned. "All right, but on _one_ condition."

Trixie gulped, and Rei held her breath.

"I remember a pony coming into Ponyville named 'The Great and Powerful Trixie', and I would like to make friends with her." She smirked. "You just don't sound quite the same being melancholic instead of snarky."

Trixie raised her head, and snorted. "The Great and Powerful Trixie felt that her heartfelt appreciation would be music to your tender heartstrings, Twilight Sparkle, but Trixie must have assumed wrongly." All was silent for a few seconds. Trixie lowered her head only slightly from its haughty position, and a crooked grin spread on her face. She extended her hoof once more, and Twilight bumped it.

Sora chuckled behind her, and Rei looked up to see him rolling his eyes. "Glad to have you aboard, Great and Powerful Trixie. Perhaps you'd be interested in learning where we're off to in the morning."

"If Trixie is being forced to leave this bed and the care of Canterlot Castle's physicians, then yes, Trixie would like to know to where she shall be journeying."

Applejack groaned. "This is gonna get old fast," she muttered.

"We're heading to Ponyville," Kairi told the showmare. Trixie's eyes shrunk perceivably. "So rest up."

"**Twilight Sparkle! Trixie Lulamoon!**"

Rei nearly jumped to the moon at the volume of the voice that now assaulted her ears. Whirling around yet again to face the door, she spotted Princess Luna. Rei's and everybody else's manes blew in the wind generated from the voice of the Princess of the Night. "**Aha! We hast found thee at last! We require thine measurements!**" Her horn glowed dark blue, raising a measuring tape and making it emit a snapping sound as she tightened it.

Trixie gulped. "The Ursa Minor was nothing. _Now_ Trixie is frightened."

Princess Luna grinned manically, rushing into the room with her tape measure levitating in her grasp. Rei leapt away, from the alicorn's hooves, watching in bewildered horror as she rapidly took the measurements of the two unicorns, both Twilight and Trixie struggling in surprise at the assault of the fiendish tape measure. Luna's eyes were practically glittering, and when she was done and about to leave they settled on Twilight's friends, and an excited flame leapt into them before she wordlessly galloped from the room, shouting something about hammer and tongs.

-G-M-

_There you have it everypony, chapter 8. I want to work on wrapping up the Equestria bit soon, but there's just so much to do and explore in this world! It's going to take some effort on my part, or song long chapters, to get through it without too many chapters going by or my chapter outline's going to be thrown out of whack._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	10. Evening Discourse

_I'm pretty proud of most of this one. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you all enjoy reading it._

_Disclaimer: A dragon ate the papers that said I owned it, so I can't claim that I do._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 9: Evening Discourse

"I'm not hungry."

Sora looked at his younger sister in confusion as she looked at the food on the plate Spike just set down for her. Rei was eyeing it squeamishly. All around them were ponies chatting with each other at different sections of long tables or huddled together at small circular ones in this dining hall. Many of them had excited or worried looks clearly visible on their faces, while several were plainly leaving their determination unmasked.

"But ten minutes ago all you could talk about was how starving you were," he reminded her.

"I must say," Rarity announced, looking around the entirety of the hall, "I've never been in the castle's north wing before. I didn't do much exploring around while I was staying here on my shopping trip. What did you say this was again, Twilight?"

"The north wing of Canterlot Castle is home to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twilight explained while Spike quickly went around to each pony seated at the table, putting down plates stacked with alfalfa sprouts, hay fries, and apple-buttercup-lettuce sandwiches (and a small plate of gemstones for himself) in front of everypony. "As you can tell, right now we're in the school's mess hall, used by everypony from the fillies and colts right up to those of us who have been studying for degrees or our doctorates to become Archmagi."

"Oh," Riku said, glancing around at all of the student unicorns in the hall, "so the School for Gifted Unicorns is basically a magic kindergarten right through university then."

"Essentially," Twilight answered with a nod as Spike placed her plate down in front of her. "Thank you, Spike." He smiled, sat down next to her, and gave Peewee a bit of charred mouse meat from a bowl of stew. Peewee happily chomped on it before hopping down to the meat-filled bowl while Spike grabbed a dazzling garnet in his claw.

"So does that mean that that's what you've been studying for all this time?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I was sure it couldn't _all_ be about friendship like Princess Celestia asked."

"Oh, where did they get that for Peewee, Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

"Twilight told me that when finishing their second year of magic high school a lot of students choose to get familiars," he answered, "so there are usually owls, ravens, and snakes and stuff around. The mess hall started catering to familiars around seventy years ago."

"_You_ plan on becoming an Archmage, Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie asked, casually levitating her sandwich to her muzzle.

"Eventually," Twilight answered. "Right now I'm in the middle of my Arcanist Degree to become a Magus, but I definitely plan on making Archmage someday."

"Your Arcanist Degree?" Rarity asked, astounded. "Twilight, I admit that I had my suspicions, but I didn't realize that you were that focused on your studies. How far in did you say you were?"

Rei continued pushing her food around her plate with her hooves, not enthused at the prospect of eating it.

"Well, I can't judge my progress with total accuracy, since I haven't been attending any classes or lessons with Princess Celestia since moving to Ponyville, but I'd say that I'm about three credits off of my major, six away from finishing my minor, and another nine credits in elective studies away, plus I've just barely started my thesis paper." She groaned and levitated her sandwich to eye level. "And I just know that _that_ lovely piece of work is going to be a pain in my flank."

Trixie chuckled in amusement across the table from her.

"How old did you say you were again?" Kairi asked.

"Nineteen."

_Thunk!_

Twilight giggled as Sora's, Kairi's, and Riku's jaws all hit the table. Riku slapped his back up to its proper place first. "Damn," he said, picking up some of his hay fries, "I'm eighteen and I practically just _started_ university, and here you are mostly through a degree already, in magic no less."

"You're a freaking genius," Sora half-whispered in awe. Twilight blushed at the compliment.

"Well, magic is my special talent," she admitted, glancing back at her cutie mark, and then at the tiara on her head.

"It's no wonder that you're one of the Guardians," Sora added.

Rarity tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I wonder what Princess Luna was doing with that tape measure. Twilight, do you know why the Princess would need your measurements?" Twilight shrugged.

"Beats me," she answered. "I've never seen Luna so excited since she was in Ponyville for Nightmare Night."

"Hmm," Rarity pondered. "Perhaps the Princess is thinking of getting into fashion. She might require my expertise! I simply must find her later and assist her. Nopony has made more garments for you, Twilight, than I have."

Twilight smiled. "Well, if Luna really is planning on making dresses for Trixie and me then I'm sure that she'll appreciate your help Rarity."

Sora glanced at his sister. "Rei, you need to eat," he insisted again.

"I'm not hungry," the cyan filly replied, pushing her plate away from her. In total contradiction of her words, her stomach gave a loud growl. She glared at it before looking back at her plate. Rei pointed at the sprouts. "What are those anyway?"

"Those are alfalfa sprouts sugarcube," Applejack answered. "C'mon. They'll make you grow big and strong just like yer brother."

"Alfalfa?" Rei gasped. "Eww! And are those fries made from hay? Double eww!"

"What's wrong with hay?" Applejack asked, the cowpony almost insulted.

"Nothing," Pinkie Pie answered brightly, "but I'd have to agree with her that cupcakes are much better tasting than plain old hay, though I would definitely go for oats any day of the week."

"Go on and try them, Rei," Kairi urged. She picked up a hooffull of her own alfalfa sprouts and chomped down on them. Kairi chewed a couple of times, a sincere smile on her face while she did so, and swallowed. "See? They're actually pretty good."

Rei still seemed hesitant, so Sora prodded her shoulder. "Go on, eat up Rei. You'll need to keep your energy up if you want to keep practicing magic."

"But I don't want to eat this," she said, gesturing towards her plate.

"Then you won't eat anything," Sora said simply. He took a bite from his sandwich.

"Oh, my, don't you think that's a little…extreme?" Fluttershy asked. Sora shook his head.

"If she doesn't want to eat, she's old enough to understand the consequences."

His sister looked close to revolting. "Sora-nii-chan!" she hissed.

Sora's own irritation surfaced. "Rei, don't make me pull the 'I'll tell Mom and Dad that you were refusing to try food given to you while we were gone' card again!"

"But onii-chan, this isn't food! This is what food eats!"

Total silence reigned around the table for ten seconds. Twilight and Trixie dropped their sandwiches. Spike chocked on a gemstone. Rainbow Dash spat out a mouthful of chocolate milk. Fluttershy momentarily appeared mortified. Rarity looked as though she'd just stepped on something that came out of a creature after everything useful had been digested. Pinkie Pie had a simple 'huh?' expression on her face, and Applejack just stared at Rei.

"What in tarnation does she mean by that?" AJ asked, green eyes darting to Sora's.

He took a very long time sighing before raising his head to look at Applejack. "She means—"

"Hey, Twilight Sparkle! Haven't seen you here in a while."

_Saved by the bell,_ Sora thought gratefully. _Thanks Poseidon._

_You're welcome._

_Shut up Roxas._

Twilight Sparkle turned her head, her curiosity at Rei's out-of-the-blue comment now held at bay by the newfound curiosity of who had said her name. The voice felt familiar, but…oh! Yeah, she recognized him!

"Hi Scribbler!" she greeted cheerfully, waving at the peach-orange coloured unicorn stallion with both lime and forest green in his mane. Beside him was a blue mare with a black mane containing a robin's egg blue highlight running through it. "Hey Ocean Mist. How're things going?"

"Place is like a hornet's nest right now," Scribbler answered. "Ever since Moondancer and Starshine ran into those shadows last night the rumor mill has been going wild, and it went totally haywire after Coltinster suspended all classes and assignments to have us digging through the archives trying to find a hint of them in Equestria's history. If even Princess Celestia doesn't know what these things are, then how are we going to figure them out?"

"I _know_ that we could capture one and study it!" Ocean Mist pointed out vehemently in a manner that indicated that it wasn't the first time she had proposed this. "If only Professor Hayken gave Morning Ray permission, she, Silvera, and I would be out there already bringing one back in." She screamed in frustration through her teeth, and then slowly adopted a smile. "Well, that's how it's been here, anyway. How have things been with you, Twilight Sparkle? It's been a long time since you've shown your face around here for any length of time."

"I've been very good, thank you," Twilight answered. She turned to the others at the table. "Everypony, I'd like you to meet two of my former classmates, Scribbler and Ocean Mist. Scribbler, Ocean Mist, meet my friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Sora, Rei, Kairi, Riku, and—"

"Trixie does not need you to introduce her, Twilight Sparkle," said the showpony. "Feel honoured, students of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, for you stand in the presence of The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Her horn was basked in violet light, and suddenly a pair of roman candles and green sparklers exploded behind her.

Scribbler and Ocean Mist seemed more interested than impressed. "Hey, an evoker," Ocean Mist commented. "Nice work there. A little pedestrian, if I may say so, but a very solid effort for a spontaneous casting."

"Pedestrian?" Trixie asked dramatically. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not perform such trifles as pedestrian magic. Trixie is destined to be the most talented unicorn in history, and she will not stand to be talked down to by _students_ of this two-bit school."

"Uh-huh," Scribbler said, an amused smirk playing on his face. "Couldn't get in, huh?"

Trixie levitated another hay fry to her lips. "No, Trixie gained entry into the school when she was just a little filly. However, she left after completion of Magic Elementary. There were many…_creative differences_ between Trixie and her professors." She continued with a mutter, "But who the hay asks a mere foal to hatch a dragon for a test? Hatching it left poor Trixie drained for three whole days."

"You hatched a dragon?" Ocean Mist asked, eyes wide. "Wow…I thought that Twilight was the only unicorn who'd done it in over forty years."

Trixie smiled smugly back at Ocean Mist. "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie did hatch a dragon like Twilight Sparkle did. However, the ordeal left Trixie in Magic Exhaustion and it took three days sleeping to recover. The examiners and staff determined that while Trixie was fit to enter the school, she was not fit to care for the hatchling like Twilight Sparkle was." All could sense the bitterness in her voice at that. "Trixie is not sure what became of the hatchling."

"Ooh, bad luck on that," Scribbler said, wincing. "My entrance exam was conjuring a top hat and cane for a teddy bear I was supposed to make tap dance while it changed colours every five seconds."

Ocean Mist's eyes widened. "You had to perform a trick as simple as _that_?" She began to grumble under her breath. "Why couldn't _I_ have gotten the nice examiners? I was made to hold an anvil directly above my head for a half-hour."

"Rei, you still aren't eating," Sora prodded.

"I told you, onii-chan, I'm not hungry."

"Rei, eat."

"But onii-"

"That's _Master_ Sora, Rei."

Rei stared at her brother, looking as if she'd just been slapped in the face. She dutifully turned her attention to the plate in front of her, and sighed slowly. "Yes, Master Sora," she mumbled.

Twilight could see that Scribbler and Ocean Mist were giving her friends odd looks, and even the rest of her friends were looking oddly at Sora and Rei while Kairi and Riku both appeared to be acting as if nothing were happening. "So, how're classes going?" Twilight asked quickly to draw attention away from Sora and his sister. "Is Professor Hoofer still insane?"

Scribbler barked a laugh. "You don't know the half of it. He's come up with an invention that he wants to put in the Cloudsdale Weather Factory to replace the current method of rainbow making."

Rainbow Dash nearly choked on her sandwich. Pounding her chest a couple of times, she gasped out, "He wants to do what?"

"Hoofer's always been a nutcase," Twilight explained in a nutshell. "So, what's this device of his?"

Scribbler and Ocean Mist glanced furtively around the room, and their faces lost some of their colour as the blood drained from them. Both unicorns looked a little nauseated. "Well, he, sort of wants to take everypony who can't physically pass pegasus flight schools and…his device…it's supposed to suck out the colour of their coats and…it doesn't sound very pretty."

"Nopony's going to agree to it though!" Ocean Mist quickly assured them. "All the teachers agree that it's insane. Coltinster practically blew him halfway across campus when he found out, and you can bet that the Princesses won't allow it for sure." She cocked her head to the side, eyes widening in interest as she tried to change the subject. "Nice crown-thingy Twilight. Is that the Element of Magic?"

Scribbler interrupted before Twilight could even answer. "Shoot! C'mon Mist, it looks like Electroshock wants us. It was nice seeing you again, Twilight!"

"Same here," Ocean Mist agreed as Scribbler quickly left the group. "Good luck on your degree, and whatever you're doing with that Element of yours."

Rarity blinked as the two ponies bolted away. "Well, that was rather…unexpected. Twilight, are the students at this school always so…"

"Jumpy?" Applejack supplied.

Twilight shrugged casually. "Everypony around here gets that way around exam time or when something major is going on."

"I guess that the Heartless appearing would be called something major," Fluttershy said.

"Major," Pinkie Pie asked, "how about super-duper monumentally huge? We're talking about creepy things that steal hearts, not silly little things like papers and tests."

Twilight looked like she was about to say something very scathing, but was visibly restraining from letting it loose. Meanwhile, Riku calmly watched everything while he ate from his plate. He hadn't been faking his surprise when Twilight Sparkle told them that she was over halfway through getting a degree in magic, and privately wondered why his university didn't offer even bachelor's degrees in magical theory. Even though Rei was eating she was still just being fussy, though that could be because she was tired after having used magic for what he figured to be the first time since she'd gained her Keyblade. Both Sora and Kairi were being quieter than they usually were. In fact, he didn't even know if he felt like talking much either.

Somepony else seemed to notice their lack of input in the conversation that was currently occurring, and hearing his name spoken jerked his attention towards the source. "Oh, sorry Fluttershy. What was that?"

"I just said that you and your friends have been awfully quiet recently, considering…" she answered timidly. "Um, is there something on your mind you'd like to talk about? If that's okay with you, I mean. If you don't want to talk that's fine too."

He almost chuckled, almost. Instead he sighed. "I think we just have a lot on our minds right now," he said. Riku glanced down at his plate. "In fact, I think that we're still in a state of shock over what happened this morning. It's not like us to be caught off-guard like that and thrown headfirst into a strange world anymore." He placed a hoof to his head. "I think I really just want to go to bed and clear my head over a night's sleep."

"That's alright," Applejack answered him. "We're all gonna need our rest for tomorrow."

-G-M-

Books, scrolls, and the assorted detritus of papers that had accumulated within Coltinster's tower office/library/quarters were being covered in auras of golden light and levitated before the Headpony of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns before being tossed aside again with a casual jerk of his head. "No, not that one. Not this scroll either." He snorted impatiently and looked at another scroll that he was levitating in his horn's glow.

Coltinster recoiled in shock. "Mother Mystra, why did I even keep this essay on record? Nothing Greenhorn ever wrote was worth more than a quick trip to a blazing hearth." He quickly rolled the scroll back up and cast it into the fire. A small explosion came from the fireplace a second later, causing Coltinster to turn to peer at it for a moment before shrugging. "He must have enchanted his writing so that it would burst aflame if somepony tried to change it. He always was too cautious about nothing. That transmutation thesis spell of his using Palfrey Arrays was complete drivel; one good polymorph spell and it's done with."

He returned to the mountain of paperwork he was trying to sort through, paused, and frowned. Coltinster began to run a hoof through his beard. "Then again, very few unicorns in Equestrian history have been able to successfully perform a spell even remotely similar to a polymorph." He glanced back at the fireplace, and shrugged nonchalantly. "Now, where did I put those papers of hers? She's Celestia's personal student, so they should be in that shelf where I placed the assignments of Celestia's _last_ five pupils. Hrr…now why is Radiant Star's work mixed in with Twinkling Twilight's?" He groaned exasperatedly. "Where is Lhaeo when I need him? Gods I miss that man. He always knew where _every. Last. Tome. Was._ Ah! Here's her work!"

Brightening up considerably, Coltinster let the mass amount of other material he was levitating drop to the floor and trotted over to his desk, a considerable pile of papers and scrolls still following behind him. He paused for a second as a sudden thought struck him. That Kairi seemed quite distressed when she discovered that she couldn't use magic. Considering her hair and probable stature, as well as what he'd gleaned of her personality, she reminded him somewhat of Jhessail, or maybe a little of that mischievous Pennae; both of them were firebrands when you got under their skin.

Coltinster sighed. A pity there was that incident with the weretiger. None of the Knights were quite the same after losing the rogue to it.

A soft rapping at the door interrupted his musing. "Enter." A dainty unicorn mare with a light blue coat and two-toned silver mane that nearly bordered on white in one instance came in cautiously.

"Sorry to disturb you, Coltinster," she began, her eyes apparently intensely interested in the quill on his desk, "but a mare of a noble house, I think her name was Upper Crust, has been going through the halls of the castle and is now within the school, loudly demanding that she be allowed to search everypony's quarters for a silver diamond-studded sapphire pendant."

Coltinster's eyes sparked with a sudden gleam of mirth, even though his answering voice was stern. "And ye thought it best for this trifle to come to _my_ door, did you Blizzard?" he asked. His horn became to be enveloped in a golden nimbus. He _clearly_ had signs posted outside his door that trespassers or belligerent ponies that needlessly interrupted him would be polymorphed.

Blizzard took a step back, aghast. "Of course not! I just…felt that you should be notified is all. Um…what would you like us to do with her?"

"Shoo her away!" Coltinster insisted. "Urgently! She's not searching the rooms of everypony in the dorms all because she couldn't hold onto some jewelry. She likely has many similar pieces in her collection anyway. That is all, and if she still objects, she can see me, speak with one of Princess Celestia's other courtiers, or speak to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna herself."

Blizzard and the doors became enveloped in the same nimbus flowing around Coltinster's horn, and the young unicorn suddenly found herself being levitated outside and the doors shut in front of her. Coltinster laughed bawdily once they were closed. He'd been itching to have somepony stick it to Upper Crust for a while now. She and her husband were _far_ too uptight, flaunting their money for everypony to see, even though this event may just dig that stick even further into their cushy rumps. "Definitely Pennae," he chortled before returning to the books and scrolls he'd gathered. "Now, we shall see what Miss Twilight Sparkle was planning on doing with her life before this mess started."

-G-M-

Hoofsteps echoed around Rarity as she slowly made her way through this particular passage in Canterlot Castle. Most of the others had settled into the private suites that Princess Celestia kindly allowed them to stay in for the night, while Twilight and Spike went back to the unicorn's personal tower. It had left Rarity in a state of shock for a few moments the previous month when she'd discovered it in idle conversation. Not only was Twilight, as Princess Celestia's protégé, granted quite a substantial stipend that paid for her schooling, daily expenses, and funded the Books and Branches library in Ponyville, but she also had her own personal tower! When Rarity also considered what she had learned this very day about Twilight's ambitions and her brother's placement in the Royal Guards and betrothal to Princess Cadance, it certainly appeared as though Twilight Sparkle and her family were set to become very important ponies to Equestria's future.

"Oh my stars," Rarity whispered as a thought occurred to her. "Archmage Twilight Sparkle, sister-in-law to a Princess of Equestria, the Element of Magic, and the personal student of Princess Celestia herself! That's what she'll be one day, and maybe she'll even earn the position of Grand Archmage; she's definitely talented enough for it, furthermore being a Guardian of Magic like Sora says is sure to guarantee it. And I'm one of her best friends!"

She giggled excitedly to herself. Rarity had never considered before just how high up Twilight's studies could take her, and being the friend of such an important pony could open up doors to very wealthy and influential ponies. Twilight Sparkle aiming so high and succeeding may very well make her business far more lucrative in the future.

Rarity ceased her giggles and composed herself while she strode down the deserted passageway. "Now Rarity, calm yourself," she instructed. "While Twilight's studies and magic may very well make her a very important pony to Equestria in the future and open up numerous potential contracts, you did not make her your friend just so you could abuse her connections. Twilight Sparkle is Twilight Sparkle; a kind, thoughtful, and generous pony who is highly talented in magic, studious to a fault, slightly irrational and unsure of herself… but she's noble, forgiving, and understanding. She's the best friend a pony could ask for and you will not take advantage of her friendship without her consent. However, it could not hurt her rising star if it came to light that you assisted Princess Luna in designing a fabulous gown for her." Trying to stifle her squeal, Rarity picked up the pace a little.

As she continued down the corridor, Rarity felt a little bit of unease creeping into her being. She hadn't seen a single soul since retracing her steps to the infirmary and casting a simple spell to track magic. Twilight probably could have cast it better, but Rarity was competent enough to discern which one of the signatures present had been the Princess' (as it _had_ been one of the most powerful auras present while she'd levitated her tape measure) and to follow it. Doing just that had brought her here. The white marble that Rarity had started in had slowly changed into a different stone, she assumed from the dimmer torch-light that was now illuminating the area instead of the electric lamps in the castle proper that it was likely some form of granodiorite, and the corridor had widened extensively. A weighty feeling came onto her while she glanced up at the ceiling. It no longer felt as though she were simply in the castle; it almost felt as if the passageway she was now striding in was within Mount Ponylon, and she got the impression that she was on a subtle decline.

Another fifty paces and Rarity was certain. She was on a path heading deeper into the mountain and towards the bowels of the earth. Her breath came in faster as she came to that realization, and suddenly the air around her felt more compact and dense. The wide corridor was beginning to feel stiflingly tight, and the high ceiling either fragile with the threat to cave in on her, or too low.

Rarity stopped. She closed her eyes and went through a quick breathing exercise to steady herself. She was being nervous about nothing. Princess Luna had gone this way, and if the Princess had truly believed this way to be unsafe then she likely would not have taken it. Besides, nopony had made quite as many pieces of clothing for Twilight as she had, therefore it would be in the best interests of both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle for her to be present and offer her input.

"Remember Rarity, this is for Twilight and the Princess," she said to herself, slowly beginning to walk again with now-open eyes. "Come on now. It's just a little corridor in the depths of the mountain beneath a thousand tonnes of rock. This passage must have existed for centuries and nothing bad appears to have happened to it. Oh, look! Thank Celestia, an exit!" Her gait quickened into a canter at the sight of oak double doors down the passage.

She was still cantering towards them two minutes later, the doors now appearing substantially larger than when she'd first spotted them. At this point she was able to make out a design that had been placed over them. A hammer and anvil were positioned within a mountain, with a dozen earth ponies wearing aprons surrounding the base of the mountain. A pair of very regal-looking alicorns flanked the anvil, with one holding a shield aloft in one hoof, and the other carrying a sword. All of it was traced in silver lines that shone with pale light. By the time Rarity finally did reach them, the massive oak doors towered above her head like a Hydra dominated a field mouse. Each of the small earth ponies she'd seen were three times her own size!

_How in Equestria am I going to open these doors?_ Rarity asked herself in both amazement and dismay. _The trail of Princess Luna's magic goes right through them._

Suddenly, as if acting to Rarity's thoughts, a much smaller door that was big enough for three ponies to walk abreast opened up. The white unicorn took a step back in surprise. The vastly smaller door had been fitted seamlessly into the other. Not even her discerning eye could tell that it had been there.

Intense dry heat billowed out of the opening, and Rarity felt herself struggling with the desire to enter. A dragon had to be in there, breathing fire just out of her sight. She heard no roaring, but the heat was definitely comparable to that which the teenage dragon that had burned the eyelashes of her fabulous dragon costume had produced.

Suddenly, she wasn't sure that she wanted to continue onwards.

"You may enter, Rarity."

And suddenly the option to leave quietly had been denied to her. Slowly walking in after Princess Luna's voice, Rarity closed her eyes as her entire being was confronted by the heat inside. There came a gasp, and the white unicorn heard something being levitated. A weighty strap fell against her neck, followed by the press of cloth against her chest and across her barrel. Straps were magically tied over her back, tightening the object, and suddenly the oppressive heat of the room was gone.

"Our apologies, Rarity," Princess Luna's voice spoke again. "We had forgotten that you were not accustomed to this heat. Most ponies never do become accustomed to it even after many ventures to this place. You may open your eyes again."

Rarity did as the Princess bid, and suddenly the reason for the intense heat became clear. She was standing within a great cavern inside of Mount Ponylon, and cascading down from the walls into a slowly flowing pool beneath her hooves were several magmafalls. The stone of the immediate area was a drastic shift from the slower-cooling rock that had composed the majority of the tunnel behind her. All around Rarity the walls and floor of the cavern were basalt. Natural-looking walkways of the black stone were throughout the cavern, traversing and circling the great pool of magma beneath. Tunnels of it hid behind red veils of the magmafalls, and bored into passageways and large open areas surrounding the molten rock.

"Where are we?" Rarity asked, unable to draw her eyes away from the magnitude of the place in which she stood.

"You are standing within the Hearth of the Mountain," Princess Luna answered. The faint _clip-clop_ of her hooves against the stone turned Rarity's head so that she could look at the lunar diarch, and Rarity couldn't help but recoil slightly in surprise. The Princess wore not her crown, her peytral, nor even her glittering diamond shoes. Across Luna's chest was a black smock, one that Rarity could tell had seen many years of use with its frayed areas and clear burn marks in places. Her magically flowing midnight-blue mane was restrained, forced into a bun at the back of her head.

"The Hearth of the Mountain?" Rarity asked, glancing down at herself for a moment before her eyes returned to the Princess. As she had suspected, she too was in a smock, though hers was a plum purple.

Princess Luna nodded. Her horn glowed with cobalt blue light, and the door through which Rarity had entered swung closed. The Princess turned away and began speaking, forcing Rarity to follow if she wished to hear. "The Hearth of the Mountain is a forge we used in days that seem ancient to you and your kin, Rarity. We were the greatest smith in all of Equestria, and only the very finest of smiths of pony, gryphon, and even dragonkind were permitted access to this place, our forge, to work alongside us and use the molten fires from the world's mantle and the myriad of metals found within to craft their works."

"A forge?" Rarity asked, pausing while they walked under a magmafall to admire the glow coming off the superheated liquid rock. Luna began to speak again, and Rarity hurried to catch up.

"Yes, Rarity, this place is a forge. The greatest in all of Equestria, nay, the greatest forge in the whole world."

"How come I've never heard of it?" she asked. "A place like this, with a passage leading to it from within Canterlot Castle…shouldn't everypony know of its existence?"

"Nay," Luna answered simply, but sharply. "This is _our_ forge, Rarity. We kept its existence secret. Only myths of this place and the work of its smiths left it. Further, when our jealousy over Celestia and the joy our subjects showed her while they relished in her day and shunned our night allowed our heart to be overtaken by the Nightmare, Celestia locked fast our forge and hid the entrance from the eyes of normal ponies."

The Princess' voice rose in excitement. "But now, now our forge has been unlocked and returned to us. We can return to our worktable, anvil, and hammer. The bellows will blow, and winds will howl as the air is vented out to the mountainside. The molten fires of the earth will boil and bring forth its precious metals. They will heat our work so that **mithril will bend, adamantine will yield, and even obstinate obdurium will obey.**"

Rarity nearly gasped at the fiendishly enthusiastic tone that Princess Luna's voice expounded, the alicorn slipping into the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice mid-sentence. Princess Luna had picked up into a canter, and Rarity hastened to catch up even though she was now unsure why she was still following the Princess. "B—but Your Highness, why did you then take Twilight and Trixie's measurements?"

Luna stopped and turned around, looking at Rarity in confusion. "Why did we…I, take their measurements?" she asked slowly.

"Why yes," Rarity answered. "Your forge is very nice, and please forgive me if I believe that blacksmithing sounds a mite garish for one of your royal stature, Princess, but I simply cannot believe that you would wish to design gowns for my friend down here."

Princess Luna stared at Rarity, and the unicorn suddenly felt as though she were missing something very important. What in the name of Celestia could Princess Luna be doing here in a great forge when she should be designing a regal-looking gown for Twilight? She spotted a ponyquin stand here and there, but they were very out of place in this volcanic-rock filled cavern.

Then again, the inside of this forge and the lake of magma beneath her were starting to fill Rarity's head with inspiration. Yes…a fire-themed ensemble with brilliant reds, dashing oranges, charcoal black and incendiary white! Ooh, what a statement it would make to any stallion for a headstrong, confident mare to walk into the room wearing it with a sultry little smirk.

A strangled gasp followed by a chuckle forced Rarity's thoughts back to the present. "You…you thought that I was to be designing a dress for Twilight Sparkle?"

Rarity found herself rocking back on her hooves as she stuttered a reply. "W—well yes. It hasn't been all that long since you returned to Equestria. I thought that, since you took Twilight's measurements and everything, and with a possible desire to acquaint yourself with the Equestria of today, that you would be interested in designing a fabulous gown for her to wear at the next Grand Galloping Gala, or to make a statement that ponies of other worlds would be crass to ignore when meeting her."

The Princess of the Night silenced Rarity before she could start rambling further with a second chuckle. "Well, we shall certainly be making something for her, and for Trixie Lulamoon, that will make a statement, Rarity, and your assistance in helping us to design their garments will be most welcome."

Stars shone in Rarity's eyes. "Really? You want my help, Your Highness?"

"Please, Rarity, call us…me, Luna."

"Very well then, Luna," Rarity said unsurely. "Luna," she said again, trying the sound of the name and finding that she liked it as much as the smile the Princess was giving her, "what will we be making then, if not gowns?"

Luna's smile threatened the crack the very walls of the cavern with its intensity. "We shall be designing and forging armour for Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon. Armour the likes of which has not been seen in Equestria in eons! Only the very finest of metals will suffice; shaped, formed, and bonded together to our will. Your friend will be able to buy all of Ponyville and the surrounding farmland thrice over with just the helmet alone when we are finished!"

"Really?" Rarity gasped. "A—armour? And you want _me_ to assist you in designing it? Are you sure that it's necessary for Twilight to be given such a present?"

"It will be necessary," Luna answered. "Twilight Sparkle is strong in magic, and she has the potential to become far greater than she is right now. Being a Keeper of the Art, or Guardian of Magic as I have heard it called recently, only reveals the magnitude of that potential. Further, she is also my sister's pupil, and Celestia worries for her constantly. She will not permit Twilight Sparkle to travel to other worlds even with such good company as Sora and his friends appear to be without some form of protection.

"Beyond that, the closeness between us and Twilight Sparkle has marked her as a target for those who choose to be enemies of Equestria. It is not an uncommon tactic. This quest of Sora's will likely give Twilight Sparkle much experience in combat, and those who would target her upon her return would think twice when seeing her comfortably arrayed for battle. That being said," Luna glanced towards a rack set upon the wall, where mighty hammers rested, before returning her gaze to Rarity. "What are your plans when Twilight Sparkle leaves Equestria?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you plan on accompanying her on her journey to other worlds, seeking out the remaining Guardians?"

Rarity bowed her head and pawed at the ground anxiously. "I haven't thought that far ahead yet, Prin—Luna."

Luna nodded her head. "That is understandable," she stated. "However, are there any of your friends that you know right this moment that would be accompanying her?"

"Nopony has said anything," Rarity answered, "but I am confident that Rainbow Dash would join her. The very words 'action', 'adventure', and 'adversity' seem to be written into her soul."

"And she is also the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty," Luna added with an additional nod of her head. "Yes, Rainbow Dash would stand with Twilight Sparkle in her hour of need. She will need friends along the road destiny has set for her, and Loyalty will help her stand strong. We should also craft something for Rainbow Dash as well."

"We should?" Rarity asked, stepping closer to Luna as the alicorn left the cavern's massive open space and began to traverse a smaller corridor, lit by the ambient light from the magma and torch-filled brackets. "A set of armour for her too?"

"Nay," Luna answered. "Our sister did not ask for it, nor did we acquire Rainbow Dash's measurements."

"I do have them memorized," Rarity offered proudly.

Luna shook her head dismissively. "That will not be necessary. For the Element of Loyalty, she who stands up to defy any oppressor and challenge those who threaten her friends, a weapon is required."

Luna turned and entered an alcove that to Rarity seemed much more of a room. More torch-filled brackets lit the room, and four long, black, wooden tables were situated around the roughly circular space. Each had a thick scroll of parchment on them with charcoal markers close by. Hanging from the walls were drawings thick with the writing of details and intricate points of various works of metallurgy. Rarity guessed with how yellowed the parchment had become that they had been projects of days of yore.

"You may take that table," Luna said, pointing to the one furthest from the entrance on the right. "You may commence designing to your heart's content. Remember, Rarity, that we are designing armour and not a gown. It is meant to protect from harm as much as possible while still providing adequate movement and visibility. However, this armour for both Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon is to be inspiring and intimidating at once. Friendly ponies are to feel heartened when seeing them within, and foes are to immediately tremble upon sight of their arrival."

"I shall do my best, Luna," Rarity replied. She looked down at the table, and was surprised to see that there was a pair of red glasses sitting there. Rarity scrutinized them for a moment before stifling her gasp. These weren't just any red spectacles, these were _her_ glasses! Rarity glanced at Princess Luna.

_Could she have…?_ Rarity thought._ No, that's highly unlikely, but still…_

"Aren't you going to begin?" Luna asked.

Startled, Rarity hastily answered. "O—of course, Luna." She levitated the glasses onto her nose and unrolled the parchment.

Luna waited with a smile for the scritch-scratch sound of charcoal against parchment until she levitated her own black half-moon spectacles to her face and unfurled her own scroll. A familiar tingle went down the back of her neck, and Luna felt a sudden tugging at her mane in its bun from an invisible wind for an instant before it faded. She turned her head towards the entrance to the room, and then glanced up at the ceiling. The mountain of rock above her was invisible to her eyes, seeing only the stars and moon for a long moment before returning her attention to the blank parchment before her. Rarity's scribbling had intensified. "Now, it is time to design a sword for Rainbow Dash the likes of which has never been seen."

Rarity's scribbling paused. "Luna, are you _sure_ that a common sword suits Rainbow Dash best? I would think that a lance, or possibly something that favours her athleticism or, heavens, utilized her wings would be preferable?"

"Nay," Luna repeated. "She must have a sword forged by my hammer. It has been agreed upon. The huntress requires the very finest of blades if all others fail."

"The huntress?" Rarity asked, curious. This final question received no answer.

-G-M-

The Royal Sculpture Garden was calm and peaceful in the silvery light of Luna's night. Two pegasi walked slowly side-by-side, their blue eyes sweeping over the different sculptures and the shadowed forms of the blooming flowers. The grass rustled in the wind and underneath their hooves, its crisp scent joining the others that the wind carried.

"That was close at supper," Kairi said softly, glancing at Sora, "with Rei I mean."

He sighed. "I know. It looks like they know a little bit about humans already, but how are they going to react when they find out that we eat things that are made of meat?" He paused for a second, and then smiled. "Mm…_bacon_."

Kairi giggled and bumped into his shoulder. "You're terrible, you know that?" He glanced down at her, and chuckled slightly.

"Hey, my family likes meat," he said.

"I know," replied Kairi softly, "and you personally are big on fish, especially that grilled mackerel with lemon linguine that you enjoy me making." Sora blushed a little, and recognized that he would have run a finger across his cheek if that had been a viable action at the moment.

"Well, you are a great cook; you're much better than I am, anyway."

"Don't say that," Kairi returned. "Cooking can be really fun. You just need a little practice, that's all."

"I burned _water_," Sora muttered in a stage whisper, his embarrassment thoroughly heating up his cheeks.

Kairi rubbed against him again, affectionately bringing her neck over his to get him to cease moving. "And you got better," she reminded him. "That tempura you made the other night was delicious."

"Kairi…" Sora droned playfully, a smile working its way onto his face despite her lie.

She sighed. "Alright. It wasn't the _best_ tempura I've ever had, but you've improved a lot since we started out." She laughed again and couldn't resist playfully adding, "Though when you start at burning water and only being able to use a toaster, anything remotely edible is a _vast_ improvement. However, you're still leagues ahead of where Riku's at."

Her quick save kept Sora from playfully doing something to break out of the sideways neck-hug she had him in, but that didn't stop him from chuckling and leaving it anyway. "May the gods pity the girl that he winds up with," he declared, "or bless her with _fantastic_ cooking." Sora sat down and looked up at the night sky. Kairi dropped down next to him and chose to lie on her belly instead. There were absolutely no clouds above, and the mantle of sable above was definitely more beautiful than any other he and Kairi had spent time together gazing at. They had no idea that it wasn't Luna who had crafted this sky, but her sister Celestia instead. Either way, the entire world seemed serene and at peace as they looked at the stars.

Every one was their charge; every one a different world, as far as they cared. Master Yen Sid could read the stars to discern events occurring in the worlds at large, but it was a skill that he had yet to pass down to King Mickey or to either of them. In a sense, Sora looked forward to that day, but a part of him was also quite scared. Gazing at the awe-inspiring breadth of the night sky made pride battle against humbled amazement. He was a Keyblade Wielder, and he and Riku both fully acknowledged Keyblade Masters at that, and had sworn in his heart to protect and defend the Light of the worlds. There were just so very many of them that on some occasions the overwhelming vastness of the sky beat down his pride and humbled him to where he felt so very small and insignificant. How could one person protect all the hundreds of worlds out there?

Kairi stirred next to him, sighing wistfully and breaking his inner thoughts. "It's been a while since we've been able to enjoy a moment like this," she nearly purred in contentment.

Sora looked down at her and felt a warm grin emerge on his face. The weight of the worlds came off of his shoulders when he gazed at her. Forget that she was a pony at the moment. She was still Kairi; a Princess of Heart and the most important light he could think of. Regardless of his ability to safeguard all the worlds, if he could keep _this_ precious light safe, then that was more than enough for him.

Shifting so that he was lying down with her, Sora lightly pecked her cheek with his lips and sighed in blessed mimicry. "Yes it has. I guess we've had a bit more than our share of excitement recently." Kairi leaned into him, humming in agreement.

The moments passed by slowly; peacefully. Little disturbed their rhythmic breathing while both gazed up at the stars, perfectly content in the tranquil silence of the night. Nothing else that was going on at anyplace could have disrupted them; no worry came into either one's mind.

Until Kairi spoke, that is.

"Sora, I'm worried about Orville," she said suddenly, a tiny amount of panic gripping her voice. Startled a little, Sora looked at her in concern.

"About Orville? Why? What's wrong?"

"What if something terrible happens to him?" she asked. "He's probably so lost and confused right now without me. He needs me Sora."

Sora smiled but withheld his laughter at his girlfriend's state. "Kairi…" he began patiently.

"What if Midna _eats_ him?"

This time he couldn't _help_ but laugh. "Kairi, Midna is not going to eat your cat!"

"How do you know that?" Kairi retaliated. "How do you know that weird twilight imps don't eat cats? I swear I saw her lick her lips when she saw him!" Sora gave her nose a quick lick with his tongue, having roughly the same effect as slapping her in the face.

"Maybe she just thought that he was adorable?" he countered. "Orville is too cute of a kitten. Heck, he's almost as cute as Rei is as a filly here. Besides, Rikku, Yuna, and Zelda are in love with Orville in case you forgot. He's probably getting all the doting he needs."

"What if he yowls all night keeping everyone up because he misses his mommy?" Kairi asked, returning to the land of awareness.

"I'm sure he won't," Sora said playfully. "He'll have Donald to harass, after all." Kairi's worry seemed to fly away at the mention of the magician, and she let out a delightful little squeal of laughter. Capitalizing on it, Sora nudged her in the side with the elbow-joint of his right foreleg, drawing a tiny giggle out of her. He nudged her again, and again, and again. Sora kept nudging and poking her until she was nothing but an unceasing fit of giggles.

"Sora, stop!" she gasped, rolling over to try and get away.

"Not until you stop worrying!" he answered, pouncing and planting his lips against her chest. He blew, and Kairi burst out laughing. Tears began to pour out of her eyes as her laughter overcame her, and Sora was finding it hard to concentrate when he started to laugh too. Kairi took the opportunity and ran with it, managing to twist away from Sora's mouth and hooves and escape. She playfully cantered away from him, sticking out her tongue and laughing.

Sora gave chase, laughing the whole while. She stayed ahead of him, just far enough out of his reach to keep him missing nips at her tail, not that he was trying his hardest to catch her anyway. Kairi circled around a statue that stood away from the others in a secluded section of the sculpture garden, giggling while Sora followed and circled after her. He made sure to stay just slow enough so that she could continue to 'outpace' him until he made an about turn. Kairi's eyes loomed in front of him, the pegasus smiling tenderly at him. He kissed her on impulse, warmth blossoming inside of his chest and his heartbeat quickening.

Breaking the kiss after somewhere between an instant and an hour, the human-turned ponies nuzzled noses before rubbing their necks together. Kairi sighed. "I wish things could stay like this forever," she whispered, "but the Blue Council won't have that."

"Are you still thinking about that?" Sora asked quietly, moving to sit down while facing his girlfriend. Kairi just smiled and nodded, sitting down across from him.

"We both know what's going to happen," she answered. "Radiant Garden will make me Queen. That's unavoidable, so I might as well accept it and go along with it."

"You've decided, then?" Sora asked quietly. Kairi sighed, and he wasn't sure whether it was in resignation or not.

"I have decided," she said, her voice soft and caring; certainly not resigned. "I have decided that if they want me to be their Queen, then they will have to accept that I will require a competent Steward in position for when my husband and I leave to perform Keyblade business or on a getaway with our three children."

Sora laughed in his throat. "You've planned us out that far, eh?"

Kairi leaned into him, whispering softly. "I've been dreaming of us since the moment I gave you my charm in Traverse Town."

"So, what have you dreamed up for us?"

Kairi hummed a little. "Well," she began, "we'll live in the big castle, and we'll have summer homes on Destiny Islands and a few of our favourite worlds. We'll have three children, two girls and a boy, though I haven't come up with names yet…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Only _one_ son?" Sora asked incredulously. "I'm not having only one son even if I do get two gorgeous baby princesses."

"Well I'm not having only one girl," Kairi retorted. "I feel as though our family will need more estrogen in the house than testosterone."

"I'm not saying that you need to give up a daughter for a second son," replied Sora, "I'll gladly have five daughters and beat the skulls in of five would-be-suitors each so long as we have at least two boys."

"Done!" Kairi agreed brightly, suddenly making Sora wary of what he'd just agreed to. "We'll have seven children; five girls and two boys. Oh, think of what the papers will say."

"Who cares what the papers say?" Sora rhetorically asked quickly. "They'll adore them. A big Royal Family after the way things went when Maleficent took over? Nothing would make Radiant Garden happier," he kissed her cheek, "and nothing would make you happier than to have them. You love kids." She sighed in agreement, and then nuzzled her cheek against Sora's. He relished in the quiet for a minute, though his mind quickly went back to what they had just discussed.

_You just agreed to having five daughters, buddy,_ Roxas irately commented._ We're going to be surrounded by pink and yellow dresses, tea parties with stuffed animals, dolls, and playing dress-up for fifteen years!_

_Nuts to that!_ Sora retorted. _I'm surrounding them with swords, bows, chocobos, horses, forges, and spellbooks so that that won't necessarily happen! I'll spar with my daughters and sons every day if that's what they want._

"So what do you think of this world?" Kairi asked softly, breaking his train of thought. "Honest opinion."

"Hm? Oh, it's a bit too cute, but the locals appear to be very friendly and well, normal, despite all of them being candy-coloured ponies," he answered. Sora chuckled. "It's awesome, but it also just seems so wrong because somebody changed the rules of how the world works."

"I agree, a bit," Kairi said. "A weather factory? So they make all of the weather for Equestria and places like the Everfree Forest where the weather occurs naturally are mysterious and spooky? I suppose I could live with it, though, even if I have to laugh at them for being afraid of clouds moving by themselves."

"Summer home material?" Sora asked.

"It's on the 'maybe' list," Kairi answered with a small smile.

_**Aw, now that's really too bad. And here I was, hoping that it would be on your shortlist.**_

Sora rose to his hind legs in an instant, wings snapping out to try to give him balance while his Keyblade appeared in his hooves in a flash of light. Kairi mimicked his position, both pegasi standing back-to-back, faces set and ready for a confrontation.

"You heard that too?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," answered Sora. "Sure didn't sound like it was Roxas talking in my head."

_**Oh, you have voices in your head do you? Well, we'll get along famously then.**_

"Who are you?" Sora asked, his eyes sweeping the area in front of him. Nothing was moving in the trees at the edge of the secluded alcove he and his girlfriend were in, and there was no sign of any creature around.

_**Who am I? Oh dear, what **_**has**_** Celestia been doing to those history books? Shouldn't everypony know who I am by now?**_

"Enough talk," Kairi said. "Where are you?" Sora felt the hairs on the edge of his mane rise as the voice chuckled.

_**Where, you ask? Alright, I'll tell you. I'm right beside you. Of course, you would have known that if you weren't too busy having your little lovey-dovey moment.**_

Sora jumped to the side and turned around, struggling to maintain balance on his back legs. He adjusted his wings futilely, and dropped down onto three legs while still barely maintaining his grip on the Oblivion. He swept it up to point straight at the figure who had been speaking, and restrained his jaw from dropping in surprise.

The voice that had been entering his and Kairi's heads was coming from a statue of a creature whose eyes were wide open in disbelieving horror. What's more, he knew he'd seen a relief of the same statue before, though it was in a different pose.

"You're Discord!" he gasped.

Discord chuckled. _**Smart boy, you **_**have **_**heard of me; though I guess that sort of thing happens when you hang around Twilight Sparkle and those other Elements of Harmony. Now, I have a proposal for you…**_

"Forget it!" Kairi snapped. "We heard all about you and what you did to Equestria. You turned this world on its head. Like we'd ever do anything you asked us to."

_**Oh, a feisty one, are you? Is that what your heart is telling you? Not to help a poor, trapped soul that was unjustly imprisoned by your so-called friends?**_

"If you're trying to get us to help you escape, you're dead wrong," Kairi retorted. Discord startled them both when he began to laugh, exuberantly!

_**Escape? Now why would I ever bother with trying to escape so soon after being turned to stone again? If I were to break out of here and have a little fun, wreak some chaos here and there, turn Celestia's statue into a chicken with a bunny's head, maybe, Twilight Sparkle and her friends would just hit me with that,**_ his voice shuddered in disgust, _**rainbow of friendship from their Elements of Harmony and turn me back into stone.**_

"So…" Sora asked warily, "what _do_ you want?"

Discord's reply was pleasant enough. _**I just want to talk to somepony else who feels as though this world is a little too…structured for their tastes.**_

Kairi glanced at Sora in concern, and he had to agree. An imprisoned spirit of chaos and disharmony simply wanted to talk? How did that make any sense? "But," Kairi began cautiously, though with a small amount of interest, "why would you want to talk to us? It doesn't make sense to me that all you want to do is talk instead of come up with elaborate plans for your eventual escape and revenge."

His answering tone more than showed how unimpressed the draconequus was with his current predicament. _**Have you any idea how utterly boring it is being turned to stone? I stand here, all day and night long, in this secluded part of Celestia's little collection of sculptures as the only one who's actually alive. Nopony comes to pay me a visit besides the foals and teenagers who come by with eggs and wonderful memories, they called them nightmares, of when I was briefly back in charge. I'm confident that the birds were told that they could use my head as their own outhouse all they wanted. And the custodial staff in their **_**garish**_** uniforms never stick around for any longer than the time it takes to clean the feces off. I still think that they'd look better in that polka-dot-plaid outfit I designed.**_

__Sora quickly brought a hoof to his mouth, but he was still too late to stop the snort of laughter from getting past his lips. He got the impression that Discord's mood seemed to lighten, and Kairi gave Sora a quizzical look. Sora shrugged and dismissed the Oblivion from his hoof. "Well, if he just wants to talk," he said, sitting down.

_**Excellent,**_ Discord giggled. _**Have I told you about the time I entertained a group of unicorns by pulling a gorilla out of a hat and having it tap dance?**_

-G-M-

_Oh Discord, you never make any sense, do you?_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	11. Travel Plans

_(Insert generic author's comment about his daily life, current events, Mists of Pandaria, or just a witty joke here)_

_ Scratch the above statement. I read _Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War_ by Christie Golden not too long ago (and by that I mean right after I posted the last chapter), and I am now deep into the throes of playing my valiant Night Elf MM/Survival Hunter, Worgen Fury Warrior, and Pandaren Resto Shaman for the memory of Theramore and the downfall of Garrosh Hellscream. __**FOR THE ALLIANCE!**_

_ In case anypony wants to add me as a RealID friend, I'm knightsofdolamroth at gmail dot com __or if you'd like a Scroll of Resurrection or World of Warcraft invite, just send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll toss you one._

_ Disclaimer: Mine is the disclaimer that will pierce the heavens!_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 10: Travel Plans

Twilight paced nervously up and down the platform of the Canterlot train station, casting a worried glance towards the entrance every ten seconds exactly. Everypony else was watching the entrance with some apprehension as well, though Rainbow Dash and Spike were both somewhat amused that Twilight's hooves had already ground a two millimetre groove into the platform.

Kairi yawned loudly, leaning against her coltfriend's side. Sora didn't appear to be too awake and aware either, as he was half-dozing just standing there in Celestia's sunlight. "Rarity sure is late," the pink pegasus murmured. "Train leaves in—aaawwww—ten minutes."

"Why are you two so tired?" Rainbow asked. "I thought you guys went to bed earlier than the rest of us."

Riku snorted. "They had a late night date in the gardens," he grumbled. He rapped Sora's head, hard, and the other Keyblade Master jolted.

"I'm up! I'm up! Oww…" he yelped, rubbing his skull. He shot Riku a dirty look. "What was that for?"

"Next time you sneak out with your girlfriend for a midnight moonlight meandering in a menagerie, _take your key with you_!"

"It was a sculpture garden, not a menagerie," Sora muttered darkly.

"What do you suppose is taking Rarity so long?" Rei asked, looking up at all of the grown-ups. "Could she have slept in?"

"No, Rei," Applejack answered. "Yer brother and his little fillyfriend over there were the ones who fought getting up this morning."

"I resent being called 'little'," Kairi retorted with a tired voice.

Twilight ceased her pacing and turned towards the group of Spike, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Trixie, Pinkie Pie, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Rei. It appeared as though everypony except the two in a relationship had gotten a good night's rest, so a nap on the train was probably in the cards as far as those two pegasi cared. "Rarity wasn't in her room when we went to wake her up this morning," Twilight answered the filly, "and there wasn't time for us to comb the entire castle looking for her."

"Wouldn't she be with Princess Luna?" Fluttershy asked. "She did mention that she was going to try and find her about the dress the Princess took your measurements for."

"I hope she's with Luna," Twilight replied. "But we haven't heard a word from her or Rarity, so all we can do is hope that Rarity hasn't been foalnapped."

"Why would somepony try to foalnap Rarity right out of a suite in Canterlot Castle?" Pinkie Pie asked. "She's not even a foal anymore."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. There weren't any signs of forced entry or a struggle; and no notes or ransom demands. In fact, it didn't even look as though Rarity had been in—"

_BRRAAAP_

Pinkie and Rainbow both laughed. "Good one, Spike," Rainbow Dash chortled while the baby dragon picked up the scroll that had emerged from the green fire he'd belched. A moment later the scroll had left his claw in the grasp of Twilight's magenta levitation spell. She unfurled it and began pacing anew while reading the letter aloud.

"_Dear Twilight,_

"_I am sorry that this letter is so late, but due to circumstances I will be unable to return to Ponyville with you and the others. My deepest apologies, but Luna and I are working on creating something absolutely marvelous for yourself and Trixie. I would say more, but that would spoil the surprise and the Princess has forbidden me from telling you. Please give my apologies to Sweetie Belle and let her know that I will be home in a few days. Now that I think of it, could you and the others be absolute darlings and look after her and Opalescence for me? I don't need the shop to burn down while our parents are vacationing in Manehattan._

"_Yours, Rarity._

_"P.S. Tell Kairi that I am deeply sorry that I won't get to show her my shop personally or take her to the spa. She can take anything she wants off the rack as a gift from me, but anymore than three items and I'll have to charge her half-price for the whole lot else I might not make my monthly expenses."_

"That's nice of her," Kairi purred, still leaning against Sora's side. "I'll have to thank her in person when we see her again."

"And that explains where she is," Trixie said brightly. She flinched at the snort Rainbow Dash sent in her direction. "What? Trixie was only expressing her relief."

"Look pal," Rainbow growled, "Twilight may have forgiven you, and Sora and his band may think you're alright, but that stunt you pulled in Ponyville isn't water under the bridge just yet as far as I'm concerned. You want a spot on this team you're going to have to earn it."

"Actually," Riku said firmly as he took a few paces to stand between the azure unicorn and cyan pegasus, "Trixie here has a Keyblade and is one of the Guardians, so she's already _got_ a spot on the team whether she wants it or not. _You're_ just our escort, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash gazed at the unicorn in total bewilderment for a few seconds, her mind unable to grasp the concept that somepony was defending _Trixie_ of all ponies against her. Riku took the opportunity to glance at the mare he'd come to the defence of, and was surprised to find that she immediately looked away. A tinge of red appeared on Trixie's cheeks, and it looked like she was finding it hard to meet his gaze.

"Th—thank you, for standing up for Trixie," she whispered, her eyes darting back and forth between his and the ground.

"You're a Keyblade Wielder now," Riku answered with a smile, "and we look after each other." He looked over at Sora, Kairi, and Rei, and then back at Trixie. "Yep, we look after each other," he repeated, "we're just one big old family, us and Mickey; and now you, Twilight, and Zelda are part of it too."

"Well," Spike spoke up before anypony else could say anything. He grabbed Twilight's tail and gave it a small yank, enough to attract her attention. "Now that we know where Rarity is, don't you think we should board the train before it leaves without us?"

"You're right, Spike," Twilight said, slowly easing out of her earlier anxiety. She rubbed his head affectionately for a moment, and then looked at her friends. "Come on everypony, you heard the dragon."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kairi mumbled in agreement. She flapped her wings, once, and thrust herself off the ground towards the train. "C'mon, Sora," she said, idly stroking up and down to keep her body aloft. He nodded, and similarly took off with a quick angled downstroke and small hop into the air.

While the two pegasi fluttered towards the train, everypony else was simply _floored_. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had to get Applejack to physically push their jaws back up into place. Twilight pointed a trembling hoof out towards the pair, her mind firing blanks as she tried to form a coherent question. "My—buh—but—flying—how—not possible?"

Sora dropped to the ground right outside one of the cars first and glanced back at the group, none of them having moved a muscle to join him and Kairi in boarding the train. "Eh? What's the matter?"

"HOW ARE YOU FLYING!?" Rainbow Dash screamed before she could stop herself. "You couldn't even get off the ground to hover yesterday, and this morning you're up in the air like it's nothing at all!" She stomped down on the platform, and several there swore internally that they heard the wooden boards cracking beneath her hoof.

"I dunno," Kairi answered sincerely, her eyes going wide and blinking rapidly as the realization of their feat suddenly dawn upon her. "When I woke up this morning, my wings just felt a lot better and stronger, I suppose."

"Same here," Sora answered, though he didn't sound very unsure or perturbed by it. "No biggie. If it means I can fly, then I'll take it."

Spike watched Rainbow's face with fascination as Sora and Kairi boarded the train. The muscles governing her eyes appeared out of control, like somepony was striking a drum for them to move, but the drummer had no sense of rhythm whatsoever. "You look a little…upset," Spike said.

"Upset?" Dash gasped. "I'm **way** more than upset! I'm angry!"

"Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy whispered, "maybe we should board the train?"

"I mean, I spend _years_ training, busting my wings off for hours of flight practice every. Single. Day. And then here they are, showing up with utterly useless wings one day, and then they're flying like they've been doing it their entire lives the next. It's! Not! Fair!"

Everypony backed away from Rainbow Dash as she glared at the train, snorting loudly. Her stance reminded her friends of the buffalo preparing to charge Appleloosa, with all the trampling of delectable apple pies included. Quietly, cautiously, the others tread around her and boarded the train with Trixie in the lead. It wasn't until everypony else was aboard that Rainbow realized she'd been left behind. "Hey! Wait up!"

-G-M-

Steam rose from a mug, filling the immediate area with the aroma of hot coffee that already permeated the room from the large pot beside the mug. Energized green eyes with spiral pupils left the screen they had been staring at to settle on the mug filled with the life-giving, sleep-warding nectar of the gods. Two tiny gloved hands grasped the mug from the sides, appearing as though their owner was attempting to hug the mug, and they lifted and tilted the cup down so that one small mouth could take a sip. Honey-brown liquid with inexplicable reddish tones poured past minuscule teeth and into a tiny throat with alarming pace, but the liquid flowed down smoothly.

The coffee mug returned to its spot beside the console with a _clink_ as it was put back down with half the liquid gone, revealing the chipper face of a young girl with long untamed blonde hair in a thick blue headband. A red scarf wrapped around her neck, transitioning to orange and yellow along its length and unfolding like the wings of a phoenix. A simple yellow sleeveless top that bared her midriff accompanied the scarf, along with detached white sleeves running from her wrist to just past her elbow. A cute orange miniskirt with yellow bows, white thigh-high socks, and overlarge white and blue platform boots completed her ensemble.

"Ah," the girl sighed, stretching her arms behind her head as she took a couple of steps back from the coffee cup, "that hits the spot!" She turned away from the cup that was barely her height, and lied down in front of the screen, humming a little ditty she made up on the spot. She waved her tiny legs and feet in the air behind her. "Okay now, where oh where are you guys? You can't hide from us forever, Sora, even if you _do_ want to sneak off with Kairi when nobody's looking."

She continued to hum idly to herself and popped up into the air a few seconds later. The fairy tiptoed on keys with the toes of her platform boots as she fluttered around the keyboard, and finished with a pronounced touchdown on the 'Enter' key. The screen in front of her expanded its view to reveal a large grid, and suddenly highlighted a section of the grid and zoomed in. A progress bar appeared in the centre of the screen.

"Now scanning sector Beta Tango Fifty-One," a feminine voice announced, its source the computer itself. "Here's hoping it's this one."

"Hopefully," the fairy agreed, dropping back from the keyboard to seat her tushy on a yellow pillow (sized just for her) at the edge of the console while she watched the progress bar fill. She grabbed her mug of coffee again.

A _whoosh_ noise entered her ears but did nothing to get her to cease her drinking. She put down the mug a few seconds later, now only a quarter of the cup remaining (just _where_ she was packing away all that coffee when the cup was bigger than her was anybody's guess), and looked up. "Morning everyone!"

"Morning Rikku," another fairy, this one with short mocha hair—except for the long tail of it bound by a red elastic tube with a winged golden cap—and mismatched eyes of green and blue wearing an outfit of white and blue, greeted. "Found them yet?"

Rikku shook her head. "Not yet, Yuna. We've been scanning all night and no dice so far, but I know we're close! I can feel it!"

"You said that when you were on the fifth sector yesterday," the final fairy of the trio, a silver-haired gothic-styled one with a black bat-wing protruding from her back and sporting sharp red eyes, reminded her.

"So what, Paine?" Rikku asked. "I still haven't lost my spirit! I know we're close!"

A large duck in a zippered blue jacket walked over to the console Rikku was sitting at. There were only three consoles in the room, which was actually the bridge of the _Highwind_, the very same Gummi ship Sora had travelled in on his adventures. Donald looked at the coffee Rikku had been drinking. "Are you sure it's not the coffee?" he asked.

"Pretty sure," Rikku chirped. "It's just my spunk and youthful vitality!"

Mickey came next to Donald and peered into the mug, then the pot, and then the mug again. "Rikku, why does the coffee look a little…red?"

The female voice that had earlier emanated from the computer answered. "It's probably that bottle of Bordeaux she's been cutting the coffee with all night."

The King's eyes widened. "You _drank_ the Bordeaux!?" he gasped. "I'd been saving that to give to Minnie for our anniversary present this year!"

"Ahyuk, I told you that you shouldn't have hidden it on the _Highwind_, King Mickey," Goofy chortled. "Something like that was bound to happen, considerin' everybody we've been picking up."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Paine asked coolly, glancing at Goofy.

"Well, Riku's old enough to drink now, I'm sure Princess Zelda wouldn't mind a glass of wine now and again, and without their parents around Sora and Kairi might try to sneak something here and there too. I figured it would be obvious."

"Sora'd better think twice about piloting me manually if he's had a few!" the voice coming from the computer snapped. "And that goes double for Riku! Scan of sector Beta Tango Fifty-One complete, negative trace."

A young woman with pale skin, pointed ears, and braids of long brown hair sighed. "Still nothing then," said Princess Zelda of Hyrule even as Rikku started dancing out the sequence of keys to begin scanning the next sector. She glanced at her companion, a young man who appeared the same age as her (roughly at twenty), garbed in a green tunic and hat as opposed to her regal gown. "Do you think they're alright, Link?"

"Now scanning sector Beta Tango Fifty-Two."

Link opened his mouth to speak, but another answered. "I'm sure they're fine," Midna interrupted, the Twilight imp of black, white, and electric blue casually petting Kairi's pet Tonkinese kitten, Orville, while leaning against Link's head from her resting perch on his shoulder. "They're a lot tougher than they look." Orville leaned his head back, stretching out his neck while Midna curled a finger underneath his platinum mink-furred chin. He purred, and Midna's face melted underneath the massive Fused Shadow she used as a partial helmet. "D'aww, who's a good kitty? You are, Orville. Yes you are."

"I sure hope we find them soon," Donald said, looking forlornly at his king.

Mickey placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry Donald," he assured him, "we'll find them. That portal may have sent them anywhere, but you know Sora. He'll be fine no matter where he is. Just you wait. When we find him, Riku, Kairi, and Rei, they'll have made a bunch of new friends and be perfectly—"

"_Loooveshack!_" crowed the female voice coming from the computer. "You're coming back to the little old place where we can get together, Riku! I've found you! Daddy always told me Beta Fifty-Two was my lucky number."

Goofy gave the console a look of pleasant surprise. "Gawrsh, Dawn, I didn't know Tron gave you a lucky number."

"Well it is now," the artificial intelligence program, Dawn, giggled.

"So where are they?" Yuna asked, zipping up to hover near Rikku and look at the screen. The blonde fairy took another swig of her coffee, almost finishing the cup while she was at it.

"Let me take a look," she said. Rikku made a belly flop onto a mouse and started dragging it around so she could double-click on the _bleep_ing dot pulsing within the target sector. "Hmm, says here that they're on a backwater world in the middle of Nowheresville called 'Equestria'."

"Equestria?" King Mickey asked. He shook his head when everybody looked at him. "I've never heard of it before. Dawn, do you know anything about it?"

"The files my father gave me offer no data on Equestria," Dawn replied, "however, the data we acquired from the Chaser Librum on Milanus does have a little information on it."

"What's it say?" Donald asked.

"Alright, here it goes. I'll warn you, though, this is the most recent information the Chasers had on Equestria before they collapsed, and it's dated eleven hundred years ago. Looks like nobody felt like the place was worth going to after that." She made a show of clearing her 'throat' for a few seconds, and Donald rolled his eyes. Obviously she was even fonder of Users than Tron was. "_Equestria: a large world diverse in its regions and inhabitants. Of the three continents, there appears to only be one truly unified and powerful country: Equestria. Ruled by the Royal Sisters, Her Royal Highnesses Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Equestria the country is easily the dominant power in the world due in no small part to their rulers. These immortal beings raise and lower their world's Sun and Moon daily through usage of their great magical power while ruling over their subjects. Their great power alone seems to be enough of a deterrent to keep external threats at bay. The world is, as of yet, insufficiently studied, but also appears to be remote and peaceful enough that inter-world troubles should leave it unharmed. Undue attention to Equestria should be avoided so as to preserve its peace._ That's all there is."

"Sounds like they took that suggestion to heart," Paine noted. King Mickey nodded.

"Donald, set a course for Equestria. Rikku, do you think you can get a message to them?"

She shrugged. "Beats me, Your Majesty. Oop!" She suddenly crossed her legs. "Uh, I just realized I haven't been to the bathroom all night and I've had three pots of coffee. Gottagopeereallybadbye!"

Mickey laughed while Rikku zipped off. "Dawn? Can you?"

"Not unless someone wants to go outside and replace that transmitter gummi block Donald overloaded the moment you guys got back after the others went missing."

"That wasn't my fault!" Donald quacked. "That part was faulty!"

"And we don't know how to fix it anyway," Goofy reasoned. "Sora's the one who read the manual on making fixes to the ship." King Mickey sighed.

"Then I guess we'll just have to surprise them when we arrive in…" he looked at Donald.

"Course set. Engines ahead full. With the warp gummi out of commission too, we should be there in six days, seven hours, and eight minutes." Mickey nodded at Donald's words.

"Donald, take the helm. I'll come by to relieve you in four hours. Dawn, please take over radar scanning for Rikku. I'm sure she'll want to sleep when the buzz from the coffee wears off. The rest of us should probably relax for a while. We've got almost a week before we see them again, but at least we know where they are and, knowin' them, they're probably a-okay!"

Midna laughed and craned her neck so she could peer at Link with her one visible eye. She cracked a knowing grin. "See, I told you they'd be fine." Hopping off of his shoulder, Midna floated away through the air, laughing as Orville climbed up her arm to proudly perch atop her orange hair. Nearly everyone else began leaving the bridge as well, but Princess Zelda stopped King Mickey before the two royals could descend the steps that led to the remainder of the ship.

"Your Majesty? May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure! What can I do for ya, Zelda?"

"I was actually wondering if I might be able to continue my training while we waited to arrive in Equestria, Your Majesty."

King Mickey smiled and nodded. "Sure thing; let's go to the practice area. But ya know, training at being a Keyblade Wielder never stops, Zelda, even when you don't think you're training."

As they descended, Mickey was _sure_ he heard Paine whisper to Yuna, "Sora read a manual? Maybe there's hope for him yet."

-G-M-

The train gently rocked back and forth as it made its way through the mountains from Canterlot to the valley where Ponyville lay. Sora and Kairi had already been lulled into slumberland from the train's movement, while the ponies asked Riku and Rei more detailed questions about other worlds and the Heartless. Riku, in turn, asked Twilight and her friends more about Equestria, while Rei played with Spike and Peewee.

Surprisingly, though, Twilight was silent for most of the ride, and every so often she would stare at the sleeping pegasi for a time with a slight frown on her face.

"Hey, Twilight, is something wrong?" Spike asked, looking up from where he was rubbing a certain baby phoenix's chin.

"I just can't wrap my head around it," she answered, not moving her eyes at all from their position. "It's just not possible for pegasus wings to become so strong so quickly."

"Tell me about it," Rainbow snorted, throwing the two slumbering pegasi a jealous glare.

"Do yah think magic coulda done it?" asked Applejack.

Trixie shook her head quickly. "Magic does have many uses, Applejack, but there is no known spell to enhance physical attributes so much. However, Trixie would not have expected you to know that." She sent a somewhat smug look the way of the orange earth pony, and Applejack looked like she was right ready to retort.

"Why of all the—"

"Wait Trixie," Twilight said, still peering at Kairi's wings, "magic could be the cause of it."

"Twilight Sparkle, there is _no_ such magic that could cause this," Trixie firmly declared.

"There could be," Twilight pressed calmly, "I've seen something like it before." Trixie gasped but said nothing, her eyes darting back and forth between Twilight and the wings of the sleeping pegasi. "Riku," Twilight began again, "they said that they were in the sculpture garden, right?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Did they say anything when they came into the suite Princess Celestia lent you all last night? Anything about meeting anypony or something?"

"Apart from apologizing for waking me, no," Riku said with a shake of his head. He paused. Revulsion struck his visage as a realization had just hit him with the subtlety of being slapped in the face with a rancid and wet sockeye salmon. "Wait, they forgot their key…" the unicorn suddenly growled. "Those morons, we have _Key_blades! They could have unlocked the door themselves."

"So they didn't say they met anypony?" Twilight clarified. Riku continued to growl but nodded his head anyway.

"Twilight, what are you thinking?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm not certain," Twilight began, "but I'm beginning to suspect that whatever's affected their wings has to be some sort of chaos magic."

"Chaos magic?" Applejack asked, confused. Her eyes suddenly widened. "You don't mean…?"

Rei looked away from Peewee towards the older ponies, concern now evident on her face. "What is it? Is something wrong with my brother?"

Twilight gave Rei a smile she hoped was reassuring. The last thing that Twilight wanted was to have her new friends influenced by Discord in any way, but even with the Elements of Harmony having turned him into stone she wasn't going to take any chances. "I'm not sure, Rei, but I'm going to find out if Discord's behind this or not."

"Discord?" Pinkie asked. "But, he can't do anything. We hit him with the rainbow and turned him into a statue."

"Can you think of any other reason for their wings to suddenly be as strong as they are?"

"Cupcakes, duh," Pinkie Pie answered as if it were obvious, holding one up in her hoof. "Everypony knows that a cupcake a day helps ponies grow."

"Where'd she get the cupcake from?" Riku asked, startled, as Pinkie devoured the cupcake that had appeared in her hooves.

"Eh, it's Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash answered with a shrug, "just ignore it."

Twilight shook her head at the pink earth pony and prepared to cast a detection spell over Sora and Kairi, her horn beginning to glow with magenta light. The magenta glow covered the two pegasi, and Twilight closed her eyes as she felt the information from the spell entering her brain. There was obviously some form of magical tampering with their wings, that much was clear from the preliminary examination. She focused, and the light dimmed from the majority of their bodies and grew more intense around their wings.

_There's definitely something here. But…what is this? It doesn't feel like Discord's magic at all, and since when has he ever been helpful in the first place? Wait, no, it does feel familiar, but…no, that can't be right!_

She snapped her eyes open and cancelled the spell staring in shock at the slumbering pegasi. "What is it?" Riku asked.

"Is it Discord's doin'?" Applejack added.

Twilight slowly shook her head, rubbing it with a hoof. She knew what she'd felt, but it didn't make any sense either, and it was infuriating! Something like this shouldn't be possible at all. "No, it's not him. I don't know how I'm going to say this, girls, but it's some form of harmonious magic that's developed their wings overnight."

"Harmonious magic?" Rainbow Dash asked, thoroughly confused.

"Do you suppose that it has something to do with the Elements of Harmony?" Fluttershy posed, looking down at the necklace she was wearing.

"That's what it feels like," Twilight answered slowly, "but I know that we haven't used the Elements since Discord, and I don't think that simply being around their physical forms is something that would trigger a physical change."

"Do you suppose it could be Princess Celestia?" Trixie asked. Again, Twilight shook her head.

"No, it didn't feel like Princess Celestia's magic, though there were a couple of similarities to it, in a way." She gritted her teeth, forcing back the frustrated scream her belly was dying to release. The magic wrapped so lovingly around their wings—well, Sora's anyway, Kairi's not as much—had several degrees of familiarity to her, but she'd never seen them used in such a way or in perfect synchronization before. And there was still another, larger, element within the entire spell matrix that she'd never, ever, felt or even knew existed before. It was foreign, alien, and wonderfully exciting and vexing her to no end! "Riku, do you know of anything that could cause this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Twilight," he answered, completely oblivious to the inner scholar raging within the Element of Magic. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He raised a hoof and struck Sora on the back of the head with it. Sora jolted awake immediately.

"Oww…" he hissed, instantly rushing his hooves to the top of his head both to protect it and to rub the spot in an attempt to make it feel better. "What happened?"

"You moron," Riku snorted. "You guys get back from your date late and you choose to wake me up instead of summoning your own Keyblades to unlock the door?"

Sora stared at him before laughing sheepishly. "Oops, that was our bad. Sorry Riku. OW!" The brown pegasus had barely finished his latest exclamation of pain before he found a certain lavender unicorn's muzzle uncomfortably close to his own, extremely wide violet eyes attempting to rival the largest pancakes he'd ever seen as the gazed into his soul.

"Your wings have the most interesting magic surrounding them," Twilight murmured, her voice deceptively quiet with how it reverberated around the car. Her horn became sheathed in magenta, and Sora gulped as he felt the blanket of fear wrap around his being. "I must study them; tell me what you know."

"I don't know anything, I swear!" he yelped, pushing Twilight Sparkle back. He scrambled to his hooves and leaped into the air, beating his magically strengthened wings for all they were worth as Twilight gave chase with manic intent in her eyes.

"You will tell me your secrets!"

"I have many secrets, none of which you or my mother will ever hear about!"

-G-M-

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	12. Wonders and Ponies of Ponyville, Part 1

_Okay, so some of you may have heard them already, but __**Siluca**__ has been doing audio readings of __**Guardians of Magic**__. I have joined him a few times since he began, and they're a blast. Granted, the ones I'm in take longer because we get off-topic a few times, but they're well worth listening to. :twilightsmile:_

_Now, on with the fic!_

_Disclaimer: Nappa: "Vegeta! Look, a disclaimer! What's that for?"_

_Vegeta: "That's to show that the author doesn't own anything, Nappa, like My Little Pony or a bunch of tree-hugging racoons."_

_Nappa: "Oh, so he's poor, right?"_

_Vegeta: "He wouldn't be if he came up with an original idea for once."_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 11: The Many Wonderful Wonders and Ponies of Ponyville, Part 1

Lightning flashed behind the foreboding form of an ancient castle. The stones that had been laid down in its construction centuries before had cracked and weathered from age; proper maintenance and care would have been likely if the groundskeepers hadn't died two hundred years ago and the masons of the region put to death for demanding a fair price for restorative work.

Inside, however, the occupants of the castle didn't care that the fortifications were falling into a crumbling state of disrepair. Fires roared within the feasting hall, and jovial music echoed from the hall into numerous corridors until finally fading into silence. Four dancing girls entertained a hundred and fifty men, the men dressed in leathers and animal skins. On the shoulders of some of the men rested spiked iron pauldrons, while more wore helmets (many bearing horns). A few carried sheathed or belted weapons, but the majority of their arms lay stacked against the walls: large battleaxes, spears, halberds, maces, and hammers. Hounds that looked more like tamed wolves slobbered over bones off to the side, or rested contentedly beneath tables while waiting for scraps. Against one wall, and chained to a post buried in the masonry of the floor, perched two two-legged dragons, each fifteen feet long without including their tails, leering at the raucous crowd.

One man cooed enticingly at a dancing girl close to him, an enticing beauty garbed in flashy red-dyed garments accented by golden jewelry and breasts alluring enough to attract the eyes of most men. "Give us a smile, love, and I'll die a 'appy man!" She obliged him, smiling sweetly before giving him a quick bop on his head with the tambourine she was fiddling with. Her hips gyrated as her quick feet carried her along the table-top, nimbly stepping around any flask or plate in her path, utilizing the sashes tied around her wrists to briefly conceal and reveal her face to the men, showcasing the briefest of sly winks.

Her smile dropped quickly, however, as she felt a hand grasp at her ankle. It was green, somewhat clawed, and belonged to a tiny goblinoid creature with a pronounced hunch that was always seen wearing a purple cloak over a brown tunic. She kicked at the hand and snarled, "Away with you, Creeper!" The creature fell to the floor, or would have if a large, meaty, hand hadn't managed to grab it by the leg. The arm that bore the hand brought Creeper up to face the face that was connected to the neck attached to the body that had the arm growing out of it, except Creeper was hanging from his foot and so peered quite nervously into the scowling face of the man (whose lack of dental hygiene was evident) while upside down.

"Didn't you hear her?" the man jeered. "Get lost!" With a mighty throw, he hurled Creeper clear across the room, inciting laughter from many of his compatriots as the goblinoid henchman flew as well as a dodo until it crashed into a set of stone steps.

The laughter abruptly ceased as a loud sound the men still hadn't become accustomed to stormed into their ears. A whorl of thick black and purple mist appeared on the stairs close to where Creeper had fallen, increasing in size until it was an inky oval of darkness tall enough for a large man to stride through. Instead of a man emerged a mouse, though he still stood tall enough to rub shoulders with the more average-sized warriors in the hall. The mouse chuckled to himself while twirling some kind of device in his hand.

"No need to stop on my account, boys," he said with an easy smile, "just go back to your wine and women, and save some for me this time will ya? Got a present to deliver to the boss, and he's sure to like it." Roughly two dozen men cheered while others raised mugs of ale and goblets of wine in his direction, and Mortimer nodded his head and turned, beginning to skip away with a faint, "Ha-cha-cha!" to himself.

Creeper had regained his footing and hobbled and hopped quickly after Mortimer, a pleased smile on his face. "S—so you found it, then?" he asked rhetorically before cackling. "The Master will be so, so very pleased with our success. I know he will!"

"I'm sure hoping he will," Mortimer answered, still smiling confidently. "With this little baby we can go anywhere, not just to the places we know of or wherever the dark corridors feel like taking us to. And besides," the machine gave a _ping_, and Mortimer removed a muffin from the device's rear, "this thing makes great muffins."

Creeper cackled excitedly and hurried onward, urging Mortimer to follow at greater speed while the lanky mouse munched on his muffin. Eventually the pair came to a chamber, and Creeper enthusiastically knocked on the door several times before pushing it open. "S—s—sire! We found it!" He clapped to himself as Mortimer walked in through the open portal. "Look, sire! The duck's portal device! We're sure to find them now!"

Inside of the chamber rested very little of material worth; the cracked stones that created a short stair to a dais and broken throne were the only dull feature of the of the equally sombre room. Several figures stood within the room, while only one sat upon the throne. The sitting one wore long mauve robes and a shawl of black fur across his shoulders. From the hood that covered his head protruded green horns that matched the colour of his clawed hands. Malevolent eyes leered at the Creeper from underneath the hood, and the Horned King turned his attention to Mortimer.

"You have retrieved the item?" he asked, his voice a dark and low rumble, creaking like the swinging from the gallows.

"You bet your uncle I did," Mortimer announced, twirling the portal gun around his finger. "Had to ruffle a few feathers and singe some whiskers first, but it's all ours, and works like a charm. Even sent those kiddos with the Keyblades packing with one zap." He raised the business end of the device to his mouth, and blew an imaginary waft of smoke away.

"Where did you send them to?" asked a large man in a green trench coat who stood close to the Horned King. His hair was cut flat, sunglasses obscured his eyes, and just looking at him was enough to know that he was packing serious muscle underneath his skin. On his shoulder was perched a much smaller man, this one thin and gaunt-looking with a mop of grey hair. Give him two years of non-stop activity under the sun and he might just pass for being colourful enough to be a basement recluse.

"Not a clue," admitted Mortimer nonchalantly. "Haven't really figured the device out yet, so I'm pretty sure it's got a randomized setting on it."

"Give it here," another person, this one with an upward plume of orange hair wearing a mask and a suit with a capital 'S' on it, told him. "I'll figure it out."

"I highly doubt that," said another crisply, the speaker smartly dressed and with a powdered wig.

"Doubt what you will," the masked man answered him, "but I've invented things far more sophisticated than those cannons you have your goons play with."

"Your arguing is annoying," another burly fighter snapped, the man dressed all in black and bearing a strange combination of dark skin and short red hair. "What are we supposed to do with it? It doesn't look anything like the Cauldron."

"Astute powers of observation, Ganondorf," the man with the 'S' on his chest laughed.

Creeper raised a fist and rushed towards Ganondorf. "How dare you insult your liege! Bow before His Majesty, immedia—!" Ganondorf's hand was suddenly around Creeper's neck, clenching tightly and choking the life out of him. Creeper's eyes bulged and he squirmed, straining to break free or draw breath, and failing on both counts. He struggled helplessly for nigh on eight seconds before Ganondorf roared and hurled the tiny goblin at the wall.

The Horned King's voice echoed throughout the chamber and rattled the ears of his assembled minions. "We shall use the device to capture the one who knows where the Keepers reside."

"And how do we know who that is?" Ganondorf growled.

The Horned King placed his skeletal clawed hands together. "The girl's bauble could not tell us, but there is an oracular pig here, on this world, that we could use to locate the one."

"Why not simply use the pig to locate the cauldron you seek?" asked the man in the wig.

"I have considered this course, but there are more artefacts of power than just the Black Cauldron. With the six Keepers, I need not search for the Black Cauldron even in the place where it is hidden; with the Keepers, it can be brought right to me, and anything else. Nothing will stand in my way to conquer all there is, not even Kingdom Hearts."

Far beneath the chamber, a girl with long blonde hair and light blue eyes curled her head into her two-layered dress as an orb of golden light flew around the cell she was in. Her shoulders shuddered as unwanted sobs left her mouth and tears flowed into the pink skirt of her dress.

-G-M-

Kairi woke up to her shoulder being rubbed. She smiled slightly, feeling Sora's hoof against her, and sighed. "Alright, alright, Sora, I'll get up." She had barely finished speaking when a yawn shoved its way past her teeth with the force of a locomotive. "And I was having such a good dream too. Darkness beyond twilight…I want to learn that spell so bad." Chuckles near her brought her closer to the land of the living.

"Sorry Kairi, but Sora's not here right now," Rainbow Dash told her. "He's off with Twilight."

Kairi blinked several times as she lifted her head from where she'd been lying down. "He's with Twilight?" she asked. Rolling her neck and shoulders to get a few of the kinks out of them, she continued, "Why's he with Twilight? What are they up to?"

"She wanted to examine the magic around your wings," Trixie answered. "The way she described it makes its existence very intriguing, and Trixie wouldn't mind an explanation herself." Kairi blinked at Trixie, and then turned to Riku. She opened her mouth.

"Soowah ahn I af mahic awound our wings?" she asked, suddenly trying to talk through a yawn.

Riku nodded his head, not hiding his smile. "Yeah, you guys do. Some freaky sort of harmonious magic or something. Twilight Sparkle's going ballistic trying to figure it out. Did you two meet the god of chaos last night while you were having your date in the sculpture garden?"

"Yeah, we did," Kairi answered lightly. She looked out the window, noticing that the train was no longer moving. "Are we here already?"

"Wait a moment," Applejack said, "are you tellin' us that y'all met Discord last night?"

"Yes," Kairi told her. "He's still a stone statue, and he spoke into our minds, but he just wanted to chat."

"Discord just wanted to chat?" Pinkie Pie asked, frowning and sharing a look with Rainbow Dash.

"Apparently he's really, _really_, bored as a statue," Kairi supplied.

"What was he like?" Rei asked. Kairi thought about it for a moment.

"For being a spirit of chaos and disharmony he was surprisingly well-grounded."

"Enough chit-chat about chit-chatting with Discord," Pinkie Pie announced. She stood up on her hind legs. "We've got to go get Sora and Twilight so we can give you guys a grand tour of Ponyville so we can party!"

Kairi chuckled inwardly and followed Pinkie Pie as she led the way down the car towards another, presumably where Sora and Twilight had gone. The pink party pony opened the door and stepped back with a flourish of her hoof and slight bow of her head, allowing Kairi to be the first one into the car, and what the pegasus saw made her stop dead in her tracks.

She could feel Naminé's shock as her Nobody mentally rubbed her 'eyes' while Kairi still maintained control of their body. _Well,_ the blonde said from within, _we're certainly awake now._

Sora was right-side up in the centre of the car, his face blushing profusely and eyes glued to his right wing while ropes covered in magenta light were tied to his four legs, leaving him suspended in the middle of the car. Four more ropes were looped around his barrel, each anchored to a different seat and already taut, preventing him from ascending. Standing next to him, with one of his wings in her hooves, was Twilight Sparkle, and the unicorn's horn was radiating with the same magenta glow that encased the levitating ropes and Sora's wing.

_Poomf!_

Kairi glanced back at her wings in confusion for a brief moment as they both spread to their fullest extent, and then quickly turned her attention to Twilight and Sora. It took her a moment to articulate her thoughts while her eyes couldn't keep from staring at the sight of Sora all tied up. "W—what are you doing?"

"Studying the magic around his wings," Twilight answered simply, running her hooves up and down the leading edge of Sora's right wing while sending a quick jolt of magic into it from her horn. Sora's shoulders shuddered and his chocolate brown tail swished back and forth. His cerulean eyes sought Kairi's indigo ones with frantic pleading.

"Kairi, please, _please_ help me! I don't know what she's doing to me!"

"Hey, what's going on in there?" Rainbow Dash asked from behind Kairi, trying to see past the pink pegasus. "And what's up with the spread, Kairi?" Rainbow Dash took into the air and peered over Kairi's shoulders for a moment. She started to laugh. A snigger at first, quickly building into an uproarious bout of unrestrained mirth while rolling on the floor.

"What's so funny?" Kairi demanded, turning around to snort at the other pegasus pony.

Rainbow Dash weakly raised a hoof and gestured in Sora's direction, failing to restrain her uncouth snorts. "H—hey! Sora! You better make sure you have some…some rope in the bedroom; your marefriend likes it!"

Kairi's face steamrolled through eleven shades of pink, which was quite a feat considering her coat colour, and she whirled back and forth between Sora and Rainbow Dash. However, as her wings were still fully erect, the mare's erratic movement only served to unbalance her even with four hooves grounding her, and Kairi toppled to the floor in a dizzy heap. The display only made Rainbow Dash laugh even harder until they came out soundlessly, the pegasus pounding on the floor while struggling to draw breath so she could vocalize her amusement. Pinkie Pie was right next to her, finding the entire event hilarious.

Riku, while not completely understanding, turned to Trixie and Fluttershy while catching a peek of the tied-up Sora and purple unicorn thoroughly engaged in 'Science Mode'. He shifted his head in Kairi's direction. "As amusing as the knowledge of Kairi's kink is, how'd Dash figure it out?"

Fluttershy's face blossomed with red. "Oh, um…you see, well…with pegasi we, uh…ooh I just can't say it!" The butter-yellow pegasus turned tail and fled, her own wings unfurling as she galloped to the doors. She opened them and took flight in a rare variation of her standard method of running away.

Recognizing a bust when he saw it, he turned to Trixie. "So?" It was quite vexing that all the ponies around him continued to blush and dance around the subject.

"T—there are some secrets that a mare just doesn't reveal, Riku," Trixie told him, frantically avoiding eye contact with the male unicorn. He noticed that her horn was giving off a very faint violet glow while she turned and scarpered after Fluttershy.

"Riku!" Rei whined. "What's going on?"

"I don't know!" he answered sharply. "These ponies are crazy and none are giving me a straight answer."

"Rei? Rei!" Sora screamed. "Code Charlie Foxtrot! Code Charlie Foxtrot!"

The filly's eyes lit up like she'd just been told Christmas was tomorrow and she was getting a pony. "On it, onii-chan Hoshisho-sensei!" Leaping onto Kairi's beret atop the pegasus' still somewhat dizzy and flushed face, Rei bolted into the car Sora was being restrained within. Rei rose onto her hind legs and Thunderbell burst into her forehooves in a flash of light. The filly jumped; roaring and exuding cuteness as she raised her weapon above her head. She brought Thunderbell down, the Keyblade slicing through one of Twilight's magicked ropes. Sora's left foreleg dropped and his whole side tilted, one of his legs finally freed from being suspended. Twilight gasped as Rei quickly cut the rest of the bonds on Sora's left side, making him half-sprawl on the floor while his right side tilted upwards.

"Rei what are you doing?" gasped Twilight. Sora flexed his right wing out of the unicorn's hooves and flicked her horn with it. Twilight winced and the glow around his wing and the other ropes vanished. The Keyblade-toting filly quickly sliced them off of her older brother, and Sora flexed his wings and scooped the foal onto his back.

"Abandon train!" he ordered, grinning, before surging towards the open doors like the wind. Rei laughed and held her Keyblade aloft in front of Sora, like she was riding a great and powerful winged steed into glorious battle.

"Wait! Come back! I'm not done studying your wings yet!" Twilight called in despair as Sora and Rei _whooshed_ over the heads of the other ponies and escaped. Celestia's student watched them go with a stunned expression on her face for a few seconds before her eyes settled on Kairi.

The pegasus almost tripped over her own hooves and nearly ran over Rainbow Dash as she hastily copied her coltfriend.

-G-M-

"Well, _that_ idea—OW—was a total bust," Scootaloo lamented, wincing as soap suds got into the cut on her cheek.

"Somehow ah don't think 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Cat Catchers' is really something we were meant tah be," Apple Bloom agreed, lathering her mane with shampoo while she hovered over the water tub. Hopefully she'd be able to get all the tree sap out this time, so she wouldn't wake up with a terribly tangled mane in the morning.

"Especially when the cat in question is Opal," Sweetie Belle added, giving the prissy white feline a heated glare. Opal hissed, then regally walked past the three fillies as though she owned all of Ponyville and returned to Carousel Boutique through her flap, giving the three an obnoxious salute with her tail before vanishing.

"Uugh! Why did she even go into the tree anyway?" Scootaloo asked, trying to melt the door with her gaze before returning it to her two friends, all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders washing the dirt, blood, and tree sap from their manes, tails, and coats. "I swear, your sister really needs to get that cat declawed, Sweetie Belle." Sweetie Belle sighed.

"Rarity would never allow it," the white unicorn filly answered glumly, blindly reaching for something to dry her eyes with. "Opal actually uses her claws to help Rarity when she's in a pinch, and Fluttershy would definitely put her hoof down if she thought Rarity was going to do something that would hurt Opal in any way." Still searching, Apple Bloom finally hoofed her a towel.

"So what are we gonna try now?" the earth pony asked when all three Crusaders were finished washing and drying. "Ah feel like we've gone and tried just about everything to get our cutie marks."

"What about hockey?" Scootaloo piped up.

"You have sticks, helmets, and pads, or the bits for them?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo hung her head.

"No…"

"Bobsledding?" Apple Bloom wondered.

"Know where we can get a sled, about two kilotrots of track, and the equipment to keep it freezing?" Scootaloo asked her. Apple Bloom sighed. This continued for about ten minutes as the three fillies slowly ambled aimlessly down the street, each one of them voicing an idea before another one shot it down for its immediate impossible feasibility. This morning was a winter-sport themed morning for no rhyme or reason, thus making many of the ideas they bounced back and forth for crusading moot for another few months.

"Why don't we try bowling again?" Sweetie Belle proposed, smiling a little.

"Bowling?" Scootaloo gave the unicorn an 'are-you-crazy' look. "Don't you remember what happened last time? Mr. Kingpin won't let me within twenty hooves of the lanes or balls."

"Yeah, in _ten-pin_ bowling," Sweetie Belle answered with a bright smile, "but I saw a flyer in town square advertising a new _five-pin_ bowling alley. Mrs. Chop recently opened it."

Scootaloo's brain stopped momentarily at Sweetie Belle's announcement. "_Five-pin bowling?_" Sweetie Belle nodded.

"Yep," she answered. "I overheard Dinky talking about it the other day; her mom had to deliver a bunch of packages to the alley. Apparently they play it a lot in Caneighda."

"Caneighda?" Scootaloo asked. "Are you making that up?"

"No! It's that country way up north in the Great Tundra where the caribou and reindeer live!"

Apple Bloom's eyes had widened in amazement. For something that she regarded (with an understandable amount of disdain given her lack of ability at it) as something that could simply be done on a lazy afternoon to pass the time to actually be a deal in another country was something of a shock to the filly. She shook her head, and adopted a smile. "Well, ah suppose since it's a different _kind_ o' bowlin', that it might be fun." She turned her head to Scootaloo.

Seeing that she was outnumbered, Scootaloo decided to go along with it. Perhaps she wouldn't get banned from this alley. "Why not? Let's do it!" She lifted her hoof into the air, prompting the other two to raise their own, and the three fillies leapt into the air to perform their signature three-way high-hoof.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FIVE-PIN BOWLERS! YAY!"

-G-M-

"Now you promise that you aren't going to go all psycho on us this time?" Sora asked nervously, his hooves stammering on the Ponyville platform as the train left town for parts unknown that he really didn't care about at the moment. All he knew was that now he was stuck in this town with this crazy, and potentially very powerful, unicorn who had just tied him up in order to study him.

He was sincerely hoping that he wouldn't end up on somebody's dissection table by the end of this adventure. Doctor Finklestein in Halloween Town was bad enough. _Note to self: do __**not**__ introduce Twilight Sparkle to Doctor Finklestein. The Realm of Light will cease to exist._

Very slowly, Twilight Sparkle nodded her head, under the draconian scrutiny of her friends. "Yes, I promise that I will not chase, capture, and tie you or Kairi down in order to study your wings, even if the magic surrounding them is driving me up the wall."

"Great," Rainbow Dash said, "now that that's settled…" She looked up into the sky, and saw a great many clouds floating around and a definite lack of pegasi doing anything with or about them. She sighed in frustration. "I've got to go talk to somepony about doing his job. _Lazy_ Thunderlane!" She took off into the sky, stopped, and flew back until she was hovering just a short distance away. "Don't worry, I'm still going to help you guys search the town for this keyhole thingy, but I've gotta take care of this first."

"It's okay, Rainbow," Twilight said, "you're allowed to take pride in your job once in a while."

"Yeah, well, managing the weather may not be the most glamorous job, but it pays the bills and it keeps me flying," she answered. "Plus," Rainbow added while doing a few loops, "it gives me plenty of practice time for the Wonderbolts." She proceeded to finish her fourth loop before winging it off to skies known.

"Right then," Twilight said, turning back to look at the four Keyblade Wielding ponies, "shall we get started?"

"Sure," Sora said, looking around for a moment before motioning for her to lead the way. "What are the Wonderbolts?"

"They're a performance team of the best fliers in Equestria," Fluttershy answered. "Rainbow Dash has been practicing to get a tryout for them since she was a filly. I think she's really close too, especially after last year's 'Best Young Flier' competition."

"Well, we'll know fer sure when she gets a letter from 'em," Applejack said. "But until then, Rainbow's staying where she is; spendin' thirty minutes managing the weather, two hours nappin' in my orchard, and nine hours practicin' on a crummy day."

"How do you know that?" Riku asked. Applejack laughed.

"With the number o' times she's crashed into mah barn roof trying out some newfangled trick o' hers and messin' it up, she's told me about her days a time or two," came the honest answer.

Pinkie Pie took off into the front of the pack, excitedly jabbering about the town and everything within sight. Kairi was only able to pay attention to her for a half-minute, tops, before interest in what the pink party pony was saying waned in favour of something else. Trixie appeared to be uncomfortable, and was staying particularly close to Twilight Sparkle.

Kairi slowed her pace down while Pinkie pointed out a store called 'Quills and Sofas' that apparently only sold quills and sofas (how they stayed in business when those were their only products mystified her; surely they had to also sell ink and parchment to go with the quills, right?), and came alongside Trixie. "Hey, you okay?"

Trixie jumped at the question, but quickly turned her eyes away from Kairi. "What? Of course Trixie is fine! Why wouldn't she be? It's not like she's in a town she was once chased out of or anything."

Kairi narrowed her eyes. "That was a suspiciously specific denial."

Twilight looked at Trixie in concern. "Trixie, it will be okay, you'll see. It wasn't your fault that that Ursa Minor got cranky and tore through here."

"Yes, but the common pony isn't about to place all the blame on a couple of impressionable young colts, are they?" Trixie countered. "They'll see the Great and Powerful Trixie as the cause of their woes."

"Even so," Twilight argued firmly, "I won't put up with anypony badmouthing my friends."

Trixie didn't know how much good the librarian's word would do.

-G-M-

"Out, now."

The door slammed behind the three fillies, one angry unicorn having gone back inside of her bowling alley.

"Nice goin' Scootaloo," Apple Bloom shot.

"Hey! It's not my fault that that middle pin insulted me for always missing it!" Scootaloo fired back.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I guess bowling really isn't our special talent," she lamented, "even five-pin bowling with enchanted pins."

"It was kinda funny how the pins talked," Apple Bloom mentioned, trying to cheer them up a little. Scootaloo giggled.

"Hey, do you two think that my special talent might really be demolition?" she asked.

"Ah don't know Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said, "but Ah don't think it'd be a good idea for us to go around being Cutie Mark Crusader Dynamite Demolishers."

"Well, what do you think we should do now?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I dunno," Scootaloo answered. "I'm all out of ideas right now."

"Why don't we go to Sugarcube Corner and get a few cupcakes?" Apple Bloom suggested. "That should cheer us up, an' we can always do more crusading tomorrow."

"Sure," Sweetie Belle chirped up, a smile working its way back onto her face. Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo, and the pegasus filly nodded her head brightly.

"Alright, Sugarcube Corner it is," Apple Bloom declared.

-G-M-

Trixie shifted nervously as she slowly walked in the middle of their group. She tightened her cloak around her body, eyes darting warily about the street. Ponyville wasn't the only town that had reacted unfavourably to her boasting and bragging. Several had even received her show well. Although, one other town had also had another unicorn that had actually upstaged her. Being chased out of town had never been a pleasant experience, and twice she'd accidentally stumbled back into one she'd been run out of before.

Those hadn't been very good days. At least she still had her cart back then, so she was able to wash the tomatoes from her mane.

However, as Trixie recalled, Ponyville for the majority had been fairly receptive of her; it was simply that she had high-tailed it out after Twilight Sparkle had vanquished the Ursa Minor those two foolish colts had foalishly disturbed in an attempt to get her to _prove_ her boasting.

Actually, now that she looked around…

"I can't even tell that an Ursa Minor ever went through here," Trixie whispered, somewhat in awe.

Applejack chuckled. "Well, that's Ponyville for yah. Everypony pitches in an' helps out when things get a little rough. That little Ursa rampage back then was nothing compared tah some of the other things we've had to deal with, trust me."

"Like what?" Trixie asked. "What could possibly have been worse to the town than a wild and cranky Ursa?"

"Try an invasion of parasprites," Pinkie Pie answered.

"That I then charm to not eat food," added Twilight with a wince, "which then caused them to eat everything that wasn't 'food'. They ate over half the town before Pinkie Pie led them away. And the worst part was that Princess Celestia was scheduled to visit that day. Fortunately she had to go to Fillydelphia to deal with an emergency 'infestation', so we were spared her discovering that Ponyville was in ruins, although that didn't stay secret for long. Her Majesty's government has a way of finding out things that happen just down in the Equus Valley."

"She's got a close enough eye on us too," Spike chatted, "what with you being here and all, Twilight."

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes before waving to one of the royal guards that had been sent to patrol Ponyville in the event of Heartless appearing. Sometimes it was a hassle being the Princess' protégé.

"Hi Lyra! Hi Bon Bon!" Pinkie Pie shouted, waving a hoof at a mint-green unicorn and a cream-coloured earth pony. Trixie purposely placed herself further behind the other ponies of the group, watching as the pair of ponies waved back and began trotting over. It didn't look like they had spotted her yet.

"Hi Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike," the unicorn greeted, coming to a stop a friendly distance of a few hooves away with the earth pony ceasing just slightly behind and beside her. Fortunately, as far as Trixie was concerned, she hadn't been spotted yet. "Elements out, huh? I know I'll sleep safer tonight with you girls _and_ the Royal Guards on the job."

"Thanks Lyra," Twilight said. "Although, I heard that Ponyville hasn't seen much of any trouble."

"I know that _we_ haven't seen any of the shadowy things the guards were warning us all about," said the earth pony, "but it's still gotten all of us rattled." Fluttershy and Applejack both nodded.

"We've seen 'em in Canterlot," Applejack said, "an' let me tell yah, they sure ain't a pretty sight."

Lyra shook her head and brought up a smile. "Well, enough about that," she announced, her tone brightening considerably. "You guys are new here, right? I don't think we've met before. I'm Lyra Heartstrings, and this is Bon Bon. What are your names, and who's this adorable little filly here?" She bent her neck down and peered right at Rei with a big smile on her face.

Rei rolled her eyes and sighed through a smile. _Everything _was cute in this world, even the train, so it only went without saying that she was the cutest thing in all of creation (however, she reserved the right to make an adjustment to that claim upon being shown a newborn foal). Drawing attention to it was just a teensy weensy bit pointless. There was no need for these random ponies to say it, even though it was nice to hear.

"Hi," Kairi answered pleasantly. "I'm Kairi; this is Sora, and Riku, and the cute little gumdrop here is Rei." The filly exaggerated a bow, drawing out a giggle from both Ponyville residents and off-worlders alike. "It's nice to meet you, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon." Kairi held her hoof out to both of the ponies, shaking hooves with the unicorn and earth pony.

"Actually, you can just call Lyra by her first name, everypony does," Bon Bon said midway through shaking Riku's hoof in greeting. She glanced between a smiling Riku and Kairi and then looked down at Rei before looking up at the grown pegasus and unicorn again. "Is she yours?"

"Yeppers," Rei said innocently with a big smile. "I'm with them."

"And you already have your cutie mark!" Lyra gushed while Kairi and Riku glanced at one another quizzically. "You're such a special little unicorn. I'm sure you two are very proud."

Kairi's eyes zeroed in on Riku's horn, and it clicked. Having no prior knowledge of magical talking pony biology and breeding patterns, she had been a little slow on the uptake, but at last she had muddled her way through it as far as she was concerned. Riku was the only unicorn of their group, and he was male. Sora was a fellow pegasus pony, and thereby the chances of a pegasus/pegasus union producing a unicorn were likely far slimmer than a pegasus/unicorn pairing.

Her face flushed red in embarrassment at what Lyra, Bon Bon, and innocent little Rei, had hinted at. Upon her blush, Riku's own cheeks coloured as he likely came to the same conclusion. Rei peered queerly at their faces, and tilted her head. "Huh?"

Sora's hooves flew to his mouth to prevent the laughter from escaping, while snorts and titters came from Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight. Their embarrassment and the insinuation hadn't quite hit Fluttershy yet, evident by the words that next left her mouth. "Riku? Kairi? Are you both feeling alright? Your faces are turning so red that one of my cardinals would be jealous. You haven't suddenly come down with a fever, have you?"

Kairi shook her head, and her cheeks went from a bright red to a darker one as even more blood showed from underneath her pink coat. Riku coughed in what he likely hoped to be a polite manner, and spoke firmly. "Uh, no. NO! She's—I mean…There's a misunderstanding. Rei is not our foal."

"Rei is my little sister," Sora chortled, unable to stop himself. Kairi shot him a dirty look and sent an elbow to his ribs, which he ignored. "And Kairi's _my_ marefriend."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lyra hastily apologized, instantly looking just as embarrassed for putting Riku and Kairi through that as they had been in the moment. "We had just thought…" she trailed off, and Rei suddenly spun around, violet eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Wait! You thought that I was—? That they were my mom and dad? But they'd have to be a lot older and that would mean that they would have had to have, that they had…oh EEWWW!" The filly closed her eyes and made a retching noise towards the ground, but it was no use. The closure of her only source of visual stimulation permitted her imagination to create a scene that her eyes would never witness. Cognitive process ground to a halt in the filly's head, all functions locked around that series of images strung together that her imagination had conjured. She made the mistake of instinctively screwing her eyes shut even tighter and screamed as they became the entirety of all things in the visual spectrum.

It was horrifying!

"GAK! EWW! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!" the filly screamed, running wildly in circles with closed eyes and trying to banish the image from her mind without success. Perhaps screaming louder would work. "OUT OF MY HEAD! OUT OF MY HEAD! GO! SHOO! BAD IMAGINATION! BAD, BAD IMAGINATION! I DON'T WANT TO THINK OF KAIRI AND RIKU DOING THAAAAAT! GAK! BAD BRAIN, STOP MAKING PICTURES THAT GRAPHIC! WAIT! That means that Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad did…EEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OW! OW! OW, MY BRAIN! IT HURTS! BRAIN BLEACH! ONII-CHAN I NEED BRAIN BLEACH!"

By now everypony was on the ground, howling uproariously in laughter at the filly's uncontrolled antics and awed at her lung capacity to keep screaming. She suddenly gasped as another thought struck her and her eyes snapped open. She fixed her brother with a glare so shocked and livid that it was even more comical considering that she was firmly entrenched in freak-out. "YOU! You filthy, disgusting pig! You want to do _that_ to Kairi!" She leapt onto Kairi and hugged her tightly around the neck, noticing that the wings of every pegasus present, including Fluttershy, were fully extended, and the horns of the unicorns were emitting a very faint glow, with not a whit of a blush occurring because their faces were already red from laughing so hard. "No! I won't let you defile Kairi like that!"

_Clearly she doesn't know your mind,_ Naminé whispered to Kairi.

Sora rose weakly to his knees, since that was as far as he could get before he would inevitably fall down laughing again. "R—Rei, you're only ten! How do you even _know_ about that sort of stuff?"

"I saw two gazelles doing it in the Pride Lands and asked Nala about it because I knew you wouldn't tell me," Rei answered, raising her nose into the air and speaking as though her older brother and master was beneath her. "And I can't believe that you would want to do that with Kairi!"

"We already decided that we were going to have seven kids Rei," Kairi said with a grin sent towards the filly grasping her neck. "That means that _I'm_ gonna want to do it with him many more times than one."

"And like you said," Riku added as Rei gaped at the pink pegasus, completely at a loss for words, "your parents did it. And you have a brother, so they must have done it more th—"

Whatever Riku would have said afterwards was drowned out by Rei's agonized scream. She clapped her hooves up to her ears and screamed to the heavens in denial of the thought of her parents doing something so lewd and utterly disgusting, not just once, but _twice_! Dropping her hooves from her ears, she scrambled off of Kairi and bolted, running into Trixie and knocking the azure unicorn down before making her exit with a contrail of dust and high-pitched lungs screaming in denial and the need for air.

The laughter continued for a good minute before it died down enough for Riku to give Sora an interested look involving a raised eyebrow. "Seven kids?" He barked another laugh and almost fell back into hysteria before he gave Kairi the same look. "Seven pregnancies? You guys are masochists, you know that?"

Kairi smirked. "He's fine with five fillies as long as he gets two colts," she flicked his nose with her tail. "Isn't that right, Sora? You're going to give me five beautiful little fillies, aren't you?" He groaned and turned his eyes skyward, silently asking the gods why he'd ever let that comment slip from his lips.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie cried, bouncing up and down and waving her hoof in the air, stoutly unaware of Twilight's unease at where the conversation had gone. "Can I give them their birthday parties? Can I? Can I?"

"Didn't you tell me that her dad rattled off Prospero's speech from _The Tempest_ to you when you started dating Kairi?" Riku asked Sora. "The one where he basically says that you'll be cursed if you do it before marriage?"

Sora chuckled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, he did."

Kairi burst out with a sudden renewal of surprised laughter. "My dad did _what_?"

"Beg pardon, but the speech _who_ gives from what?" asked Applejack, nose scrunched in confusion. Bon Bon and Spike both shrugged.

"I've never heard of it," said the baby dragon. "Never been a book in any library I've been in with a title like that."

Riku suddenly stood upon both hind hooves, and raised his right forehoof out in the mockery of an orator, before bringing it calmly to bear before Sora's face. _"Then, as my gift and thine own acquisition  
Worthily purchased take my daughter: but_"

Riku's face turned hard, and he gave Sora a stare that could chill blood.

_"If thou dost break her virgin-knot before  
All sanctimonious ceremonies may  
With full and holy rite be minister'd,  
No sweet aspersion shall the heavens let fall  
To make this contract grow: but barren hate,  
__Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew  
__The union of your bed with weeds so loathly  
__That you should hate it both: therefore take heed,  
__As Hymen's lamps shall light you."_

Nopony could keep a straight jaw as Riku finished his verse, but no sooner had he ceased speaking than Sora jumped to his hooves and spoke stuttering in answer that soon grew strong and confident in his rebuttal.

"_As I hope  
__For quiet days, fair issue and long life,  
__With such love as 'tis now, the murkiest den,  
__The most opportune place, the strong'st suggestion.  
__Our worser genius can, shall never melt  
__Mine honour into lust, to take away  
__The edge of that day's celebration  
__When I shall think: or Phoebus' steeds are founder'd,  
__Or Night kept chained below."_

"Verily thine heart speaks true!" cried Riku. "Sit, now, and talk with her, for she is thine own forevermore."

Sora frowned and pointed at Riku. "That's not the line."

"I improvised."

"Bullshit. You can't _improvise_ Shakespeare! Were you even speaking in iambic pentameter?"

"Since when did you become a Shakespeare nut?"

"Since her dad recited that verse _word for word_ at me with the wrath of Zeus' mighty thunderbolts behind him and scared the soul right out of me! You think I actually replied as Ferdinand did? Heck no! I only remembered it was from _Tempest_ because we did that in class the whole month before. I was nodding in fear so hard my neck got a cramp!"

"Oh, I get it!" Twilight exclaimed. "You two were quoting Willhoof Shakespeare! I thought there was something familiar sounding about those verses. I just love her comedy '_A Midsummer Night's Dream_'."

Riku and Sora both turned heads towards her and simultaneously yelped, "_HER?_"

Sora couldn't believe this. Shakespeare existed on this world too, except as a female. A woman! That wouldn't have been so bad, if it weren't for the fact that his mind couldn't wrap around a woman writing such tragedies as _Hamlet_ and _Romeo and Juliet_.

Kairi giggled at his stunned face and bumped his side. "Really brings a new meaning to those rumors that he really was a woman, doesn't it?" she whispered.

Trixie then did something she immediately regretted. She laughed out loud and snorted. "Heh, the fearless Sora, scared like a filly over the father of his marefriend." While Sora just scowled and both Riku and Kairi laughed, Lyra and Bon Bon stopped and stared.

"You!" Lyra spat, pointing a hoof at the other unicorn. "You're the one who boasted about the Ursa Major and then couldn't beat an Ursa Minor."

Trixie stumbled over her words much like she was now stumbling over her hooves. "W-well, yes. Trixie is the same Trixie who was falsely boast—"

"That Ursa Minor bit the roof off of Carrot Top's house," Bon Bon interjected.

"Trixie never meant any harm," the azure unicorn whimpered, bad memories rising to the surface of her thoughts as Lyra and Bon Bon approached with angered steps. "Trixie only wanted ponies to remember and adore her."

"Oh, we remember you alright," said Lyra. "Why don't you just turn your little tail and leave us—"

She was cut off as Twilight interposed herself between the two unicorns.

"Stop it, Lyra," Twilight firmly demanded. "Trixie is no more at fault than Snips and Snails, and we all know that this town is a haven for hysteria and crazy. Nopony has been run out of here before, and I won't have you chasing Trixie out just because of one mistake. Stars above, Ponyville has dealt with far worse than a cranky Ursa Minor."

Lyra's and Bon Bon's ears flattened against the sides of their heads and they looked down, guilt creeping in from Twilight's use of the hidden skill, lecture. "I guess you're right, Twilight," Lyra admitted. She looked up, a sheepish smile coming onto her face. "Sorry about tha—Trixie? Hey, where did she go?"

"Huh?" Twilight asked. She craned her neck around but, sure enough, Trixie had vanished. Her stance instantly dropped out of 'lecture' mode and into 'panicked-and-frazzled' mode. "Oh no. Where did she run off to?"

"Ponyville's not exactly dangerous, Twilight," Spike reminded her, and Peewee chirped in agreement from his shoulder. Just as he said it, two of the pure white pegasus guards that were part of the Ponyville contingent sent by the Princess trotted past. Both of them saluted and turned their heads towards Lyra, each calling her "Ma'am", before continuing on.

"Uh, what was that about?" asked Applejack. Lyra turned to look at the pair of pegasi in confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"Beats me. I think I'll go ask them."

Just as she started to trot off, Twilight turned around and gazed down a different street. "I'm going to go look for Trixie," she announced. "Pinkie Pie, can you, Applejack, and Fluttershy keep the tour of Ponyville going for them?"

"Okey-dokey-lokey, Twilight," Pinkie said, imitating the salute the royals guards had just given Lyra.

"And while you're at it, find Rei," Sora told Twilight. "She can handle herself and this place does look peaceful enough, but she's going to need somebody's help finding her way around."

"Aren't you going to look for her, Sora?" asked Fluttershy. He shook his head.

"Nah. Rei'll need a little bit of time to cool off. If I go after her, no matter how hard I'll try to calm her down she'll keep freaking out. If I give her some space, she'll wind down in time."

"Alrighty then," Pinkie declared. "Don't worry Twilight; we'll keep the tour going. When you've found them both, come down to Sugarcube Corner with them!"

Twilight giggled a little to herself, knowing what that was implying. "Okay then, I'm off. Coming, Spike?"

"Coming!"

Bon Bon lowered her head apologetically to the remainder of the group and glanced back towards where Lyra had gone. "I'm sorry about that, but I have to get going. It was nice meeting you, Sora, Riku, Kairi."

"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Bon Bon," Kairi replied. "We'll have to get better acquainted later."

"I'm sure we will," the cream-coloured earth pony answered. "And then Lyra can talk your ears off about her crazy fascination with _humans_ of all things."

Three sets of ears perked up. "Humans? Really?" Sora asked, interested.

Bon Bon looked at him queerly for a second, and then offered a warm smile. "Why, yes, Humans. Isn't that the funniest thing? Half the town keeps telling her that they're myths from olden pony times, but she won't believe them. She goes gallivanting all over Equestria on digs of supposedly ancient human ruins with other human enthusiasts all the time. She actually came back from one last week, beaming ear-to-ear and nattering everypony's ears off about how they'd discovered an ancient human courtship dance or something like that." She placed a hoof to her chin in thought.

"Ancient courtship dance ritual?" Kairi asked, snorting slightly in amusement and deliberately swishing her tail against Sora's so that their tails could link together. He blushed, even moreso as he saw the foxy look she was sending his way.

"Now how was it supposed to go again?" Bon Bon mused to herself. "Lyra wasn't too certain herself; they'd only gotten the first part translated and the rest was apparently too worn down on the stone tablet to decipher, but I think it started with a jump to the left."

For an entire second, anyone who had access to the minds of Sora, Riku, Kairi and/or Roxas and Naminé, could have heard a pin drop as all cerebral function ground to a halt around those words exiting the unwitting Bon Bon's mouth.

_It's just a jump to the left_.

Six right hooves rhythmically tapped to the right in time three times. Kairi broke first with a snigger, that developed into a giggle, which spread from her tail into Sora's body and caused him to bark out a quick laugh that incited a chain reaction which became a laughing virus that Riku inhaled and subsequently became infected with seconds later, and then three ponies dropped to the ground and for the second time, bawling with tears in their eyes from uncontrollable mirth.

-G-M-

Good Stance looked to the side as he and Silver Shield trotted down the lane. The mint green unicorn that had been with the Elements they'd passed by earlier was quickly cantering towards them. He slowed down, a slight smile coming to his face, and he motioned for Silver Shield to do so as well so that the unicorn could catch up. A good twenty seconds later, she did.

"Follow me," was all she said, dropping to a quick trot but otherwise continuing past them before either stallion could make a move or question her. Glancing at each other, unsure of the tone of voice in which the mare had spoken, the two guards did as she bid.

"Why are we following the ma'am, sergeant?" Silver Shield asked.

"Because she told us to, private," Good Stance answered, rock-steady in his tone. They strode past the fattest pony either had ever seen, but didn't stop to get a good look at him as the unicorn was still moving. All they really noticed was his dark grey coat and cat-like face, if cats had faces that were compared to squished tomatoes. "So quit worrying about it and keep an eye out for those shadows that we were warned about. They could be anywhere."

"But we haven't seen one yet, sergeant," the private protested. "The whole town seems really peaceful."

"Just because it seems that way doesn't mean that it is," Good Stance countered firmly. "Didn't they teach you anything in basic? Now come on. We're falling behind."

The mare led them to a typical Ponyville residence: two storeys, golden thatched roof, lovely windows with potted plants decorating them, white walls with supportive planks decorated in a slightly lighter shade of red than crimson; there was even a pink canvas awning attached to the side where a pair of minty and white lawn chairs sat in the shade between a round white table.

The unicorn opened the door and raised her hoof towards the interior. "Inside. Now." Good Stance quietly nodded his head and quickly trotted inside, noticing that the mare was making quick glances up and down the street to see if anypony was watching them.

The interior was quaintly decorated. A coffee table in front of the striped chesterfield with a sparse coating of books and magazines lifted from the nearby bookshelf. On a blue armchair rested a beautiful golden lyre, and in a corner perched a white parakeet on its stand. He could see back into the kitchen and noted the two sets of stairs, one leading up and the other leading into a basement, but Good Stance quickly made room for the following Silver Shield and trotted to stand near the coffee table.

Lyra's horn lit up with golden light and the door shut behind her as she hastily entered her abode right after Silver Shield. The private looked back at the mare, confused and somewhat intimidated by the fact that she'd slammed the door shut. "Ma'am, what's this about?" he asked, joining Good Stance beside the coffee table.

The older and wiser pegasus stallion noticed a vein beginning to throb in the unicorn's temple while her horn continued to be sheathed in gold, and the same glow encompassed the door, the windows, the walls…

_Oh buck, that's likely a sound-cancelling spell. Sweet Celestia what did we do?_

Her horn stopped glowing, and Lyra turned towards the pair so fast that it was like a whip had cracked and barked, "Atten-tion!" She came to stand before them, and even though both soldiers were now looking straight ahead they simply wanted to wilt inside at the look they saw in the corner of their eyes. Both could sense an imminent dressing-down, and felt lead plummet into their stomachs.

"I expected better," Lyra said. "I expected _much_ better than this from you, Sergeant Stance. I could see the private possibly messing up, but _you_ and Lieutenant Wind Storm are the ones in charge of the stallions the Princess sent here yesterday. Both of you should have read the briefing of Ponyville and relayed all necessary information to your command. Private, _you_ should have been paying attention when they did so!"

"Lieutenant Heartstrings, I—"

"Did I give you permission to speak, sergeant?"

Swallowing the lump that had taken up residence in his throat, Good Stance forced himself not to look at the hoof she was pointing at him. "No, ma'am."

"What is worse, is that you saluted me in front of Twilight Sparkle. She may be a little distracted at the moment, with Trixie, the shadows, and these new ponies she's showing around, but something out of place like that isn't going to leave her mind. She's too curious; she'll want to know what it's about." Lyra stopped pacing between the two of them and looked at both. Her visage was stern and unyielding.

"All she knows me as is Lyra Heartstrings, her former classmate who plays a mean lyre and is fascinated with anything regarding humans. She has no idea that I've been her undercover guard for the last _four_…_years_…by the direct order of her brother." Lyra raised her head, but kept her eyes on them, and Good Stance seriously felt like turning into jelly in an attempt to escape through the cracks in the floor. "And you two could have just blown my cover in your incompetence. What do you have to say for yourselves? Sergeant?"

Stiffening slightly as he was personally addressed, the pegasus locked gazes with the unicorn. There was no excuse. He knew that they weren't supposed to salute her. He _knew_ that. He'd read that no less than ten times in the brief on Ponyville as she was the resident guard officer, undercover though she was. It didn't matter that in his brain he'd thought _'a lieutenant, quick, salute!'_, they were completely in the wrong, and he especially was at fault since he was setting an example for his subordinate. She hadn't even been in armour or wearing headdress, so just what _was_ he thinking? "I sincerely apologize, ma'am. We had been briefed and our failure to follow our orders is inexcusable. I knew not to salute, but I did so anyway. Do not punish Private Silver Shield too harshly; the fault lies with me."

"You're right. The fault does lie with you." Lyra stared at them for a good ten seconds, and both guards were sweating bullets under her gaze. Suddenly, she sighed. "Too late now to do anything about it though. If she finds out the truth, then she finds out, and I can openly tail her across Equestria instead of being all sneaky about it."

Silver Shield raised a hoof to his chest, indicating that he had an issue. "Permission to speak, ma'am?"

"Permission granted." Silver Shield looked her in the eye.

"Ma'am, what do you think she'll do if she finds out?"

Lyra sighed again and cast her eyes to the space between his hooves. "Your legs are too close together, private, fix it," she evaded, turning around.

"Ma'am?" Silver Shield pressed, even while he fixed his footing. Lyra looked up to the ceiling, and Good Stance reckoned that she was trying to come to terms with something she desperately didn't want to.

"Her brother will get an earful or two, but she may never trust me again or want to stay my friend," she answered slowly, casting a saddened eye back towards the two. She sighed. "You're dismissed. Go; and make sure you remind the rest of your outfit that I am _not_ to be given so much as an eyes when being passed on the street. I'm a run-of-the-mill resident of Ponyville, and not affiliated with the Royal Guard at all. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Dismissed."

-G-M-

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


	13. Wonders and Ponies of Ponyville, Part 2

_Nappa: "Hey, Vegeta! Look! We're doing this again. I can see people reading us."_

_Vegeta: "I can see that, Nappa. It appears the author likes us or something."_

_Nappa: "But we don't even exist in—" (Sora walks in and frowns curiously at the two Saiyans) "hey! Who are you?"_

_Sora: "Who am I? I'm Sora. Who are you guys and what are you doing here?"_

_Nappa: "I am Nappa, and this is Vegeta. He was a prison—"_

_Vegeta: "SHUT UP NAPPA!"_

_Nappa: "…bitch."_

_Vegeta: "God damn it, Nappa. How many times are you going to introduce me like that?"_

_Sora: "So what are you guys doing here?"_

_Nappa: "Well, apparently your author buddy read one of your characters in one of __**Siluca**__'s audio readings using a mimicry of my voice, and his name was Goofy. So now he's hired Vegeta and me to do these disclaimery things for him in exchange for one wish."_

_Vegeta: "And we're totally going to use it wisely."_

_Nappa: "Yeah, we're gonna get panties. I mean immortality. Immortality's what I meant, right Vegeta?"_

_Sora: (shaking his head in his hand before looking to the sky) "Shire Folk, is reading Goofy's part like Nappa going to affect his dialogue?"_

_(Shire Folk appears in a flash of light)_

_Shire: "No, but it'll be fun to read it like that."_

_(A voice flits in from off-screen)_

_Kairi: "Sora, are you talking to Shire?"_

_Sora: "Yes, Kairi, I'm talking to him."_

_Kairi: "Can you get him to write us a lemon?"_

_Shire: "OUT OF THE QUESTION, KAIRI! This fic is rated T! Teen Kairi, Teen!"_

_Kairi: (still off-screen, sounding like she's pouting) "But you can change the rating. You changed the other one's rating to allow more mature themes."_

_Shire: "That was a planned move! That was going to happen anyway in the other fic. This one's staying Teen, I'm sure of it. I have no plans to change it!"_

_Kairi: "Oh, phooey."_

_(Shire Folk sighs loudly and his shoulders slump a little. Twilight Sparkle trots in.)_

_Twilight: "Hey boys, what's going on here?"_

_Shire: "Kairi just asked me to give her and Sora a lemon in the story."_

_Twilight: (scrunching her nose up in confusion) "A lemon? Why do you look so worked up about her asking you to give them citrus fruit? It's very healthy and the sour taste can really go well on certain foods."_

_Sora: "No, Twilight, she wanted Shire to—"_

_Nappa: "Write a scene of the two of them getting down and doing the big nasty on a bed or a counter or against the wall. Yeah, she's a redhead alright."_

_(Twilight blushes furiously)_

_Twi: "She wanted you to write clop?" (Shire Folk nods weakly) "Please tell me that this won't become a clopfic."_

_Shire: "I have no plans for that. Sora, would you do the honours?"_

_Sora: "Sure. Shire Folk—"_

_(Sora is cut off as he punched with excessive force in the cheek by Vegeta and sent flying until he crashes into a cliff)_

_Vegeta: "That's __**our**__ job! Shire Folk doesn't own little ponies or puny Keyblade wielders. Now sit down and read his latest chapter, weaklings! I want my wish!"_

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 12: The Many Wonderful Wonders and Ponies of Ponyville, Part 2

Heat surrounded her, filling the cavern with the intensity of a volcano's belly as the magma roiled and churned unseen far beneath the platform upon which she sat. Her anvil was before her, bearing the semi-molten metal upon which she was working. A straight pein hammer, held tightly in her hoof, fell with a clang that resounded through the room above the roar of the forge and the howl of the wind. A tongue of flame licked out of the metal as she removed her hammer, readying it for another stroke. Hammer smote semi-molten metal again and again, beating the stubborn substance down and reminding it who the superior being was with ringing thunder.

Luna raised her hoof, and the shafts that led vented the forge to the surface of Mount Ponylon, opened. Fresh air bearing the scent of mountain pine whirled into the Hearth of the Mountain, and Luna's horn became encased in midnight blue as she directed its course.

"**Wind of the clear sky, bear away the impurities of my work, and aid in its shaping**," said the Princess of the Night, striking down once more with her hammer. The wind blew around the metal she continued to mold and strengthen it with her hammer blows. With a flick of her hoof, shafts on the other side of the forge opened while their predecessors simultaneously shut tight. The wind exited as quickly as it had come. Then, as if on cue, a pillar of magma leapt up to her right, reaching for the ceiling.

Luna grasped her work in her magic, and thrust it into the magma. She gritted her teeth and called upon her skill in her craft and spellcasting to keep her work from melting completely and joining with the magma. In the molten fires of the world's mantle she would roast away any impurities that the wind had not carried away, and reheat the metal before it could cool too quickly or too much. The curve had to be perfect.

The pillar of magma did not recede as gravity would bid, but instead surged upwards with renewed vigor, completely enveloping Luna's work. The forge had been abandoned with her banishment, and with that came rebellion. She would force it to bow to her will once more. An arrow of light left her horn, and pierced a stalactite that hung high above, the base over twice her length in diameter. It wobbled, and fell into the magma below with a thunderous splash.

Immediately Luna saw the signs of melting take place as the magma's heat seeped into the rock, her eyes sparkling as gleams of silver caught her eye among the pool of red, signs of the molten ore which she sought. Her work was still held within the raging wave of magma, and Luna forcibly took the frothing pillar and formed it into a loop, cowing it with the strength of her magic and her will. The molten ore slowly, delicately, was brought into the loop through the current Luna carefully constructed, and she fused it with the semi-molten metal still held within her magical grasp.

Like the crack of a whip, the white-hot metal returned to its place at her anvil, and the loop of magma plummeted into the pool below Luna's hammer smote the vibrantly glowing metal, shaping it, her horn glowing anew and binding spells into her work. The shafts opened once more, and wind whipped through the forge like a gale, tugging at Luna's mane and making the flames of the earth roar. Sunlight streamed in, and became like liquid gold before crystallizing beautifully. Luna's hammer crushed the wonderous item into dust and she sprinkled a hoofful over her craft.

Hammer pounded on metal again, driving the dust of Celestia's sun's rays into the heart of Luna's craft. The wind exited once again, and Luna drove her art into a nearby magmafall, and a different metallic ore worked its way up the falls to join it.

Luna left it in the falls for longer than she had the raging wrath of the flighty pool beneath her until her work was glowing like a lantern and almost dripping with molten ore before she brought the work back to her anvil. She placed the metal flat against the anvil's edge and struck the overhanging section, bending it down. Her hammer clashed with the metal again and again, bringing the metal's sides closer and closer to one another until she was able to make them touch. Her hammer bit down hard, striking with the intensity she'd had of old. The metals folded in on one another, and Luna let the wind steal through her forge again before delving the metal into molten fire once more.

From the entrance to the cavern where she and Luna had spent all night designing the three works that the Lunar Princess would craft, Rarity stood on trembling hooves. She was tired, but could not feel the fatigue; the heat was beginning to get oppressive even with the magical smock tied to her chest and barrel, but she did not acknowledge it. The sight of Luna working left her in nothing short of complete awe at the alicorn's skill and dedication. There was no doubting it, Princess Luna truly was a grand master of the forge; a smith with no rival.

"Your Highness!" Rarity blurted out eagerly as Luna pounded more solar dust into the metal she was folding once more. "I mean, Luna! May I be of assistance?"

Luna paused for a moment, surprised, and looked up at the white unicorn. A smile came to her lips. "Yes, Rarity, you may. While I am unmatched at the forge with hammer and anvil, my talent does not extend to fabrics. Metal armour is excellent, but it needs padding underneath to distribute the force of the blow better and allow for more comfort when worn. I can forge and shape the exterior, but of the cloth to go beneath…"

"Say no more, I shall get to work right away!" Rarity declared, a starry gleam in her eye. "And I know just the designs I shall utilize!" She cantered away as Luna returned her gaze to the metal beneath her hooves.

"Lulu," a voice said softly, yet still discernible over the roar of the primal forces at work in the forge.

"Tia!" Luna gasped, turning and looking at Celestia, who had calmly walked into this place. She looked just as she normally did, without a protective apron fastened or any other magical device to guard against the heat. Though, why would her sister need one in the first place? The Princess of the Sun had nothing to fear from the meagre heat of the planet's core. "What are you doing here?"

Celestia's countenance was troubled, and she glanced towards the corridor that Rarity had just run down. Celestia stared at it for a moment before returning her gaze to her younger sister. "There were intruders in the castle last night."

"Intruders?" Luna asked, bewildered. "Who? How did they get in? Is anypony hurt?"

Celestia shook her head. "I do not know exactly who they were, for they had masked themselves from our guards. They entered the guest suite I put our new friends into and left through the window."

Suspicion suddenly struck Luna and she narrowed her eyes. "What did they do? Why did they come for Sora and his friends? Is Equestria in greater danger than we anticipated?"

"I cannot say," Celestia admitted, "but as for what they did, powerful magic that had not been there before is now on the wings of Sora and Kairi, and the horns of Riku and Rei. I got there as soon as I could after I first felt the beginnings of their spells, but by the time I had arrived they were already winging away into the night."

"Winging away?" Luna asked. "But only a pegasus could have escaped through the window, and they cannot cast spells, dear sister. Are you suggesting there have been other true alicorns out in the world besides you and I?"

"They were neither pegasus nor alicorn, my sister," answered Celestia. "They took the form of birds, and there were three: an Osprey, a Little Owl, and a Golden Eagle."

"Birds?" said Luna, taking a pace backwards in shock and confusion. "Are you…sure, Tia? Birds?" Celestia nodded.

"That is what I saw, as surely as I raise the sun," she said. "Though I do not think that that is what they were. They had great power, my sister, greater than even our own."

Luna set aside her hammer, and gazed at her hooves, troubled. "Then that begs the questions. Who were they, and why did they come and cast spells upon Sora and his friends while they were safely within our care?"

"I do not know," Celestia repeated. "We do not have enough information to answer this riddle, Lulu, but I do not believe they came with dark designs in mind for them. I think they came to aid our new friends in ways we cannot see. Powerful magic like what I felt is not cast without a reason, and on all but Kairi it appeared cast with loving intent."

Luna peered quizzically at her sister. "Why was the magic around Kairi's wings not the same? What was it instead?"

Celestia looked thoughtful for a moment, and tapped a hoof to her chin. "It seemed as though…it were done begrudgingly. The one who did it must have been coerced into granting Kairi the same boon as her coltfriend."

For a minute, Luna was silent as she puzzled over the new information she had been given. "What do you think we should do? Should we look for these birds, or inform the Elements about what transpired?"

Celestia giggled slightly in her throat. "Oh, I'm sure that Twilight Sparkle will have already sensed the presence of the magic on her new friends. Don't worry, my sister, she will have the situation well in hoof in Ponyville and wherever else they venture to. I also doubt that Sora or any of his friends would abuse what has been given to them."

"But what _has_ been given to them?" asked Luna.

"Power," her sister answered simply. Celestia bowed her head slightly. "I felt it best to inform you, in case you should run across these birds in the future."

"I shall be wary," Luna assured her, "but know that if I do run across them, I will get the answers we seek." Celestia nodded, and then her face brightened.

"How's work?"

Luna smiled widely and practically squealed with delight as she took up her hammer again. "Oh it is _wonderful_ Tia! The smell of the fusing metals! The whisper of the hot wind in my mane! The quiver in my hocks as my hammer strikes! I haven't felt this alive in eons!" She struck down with the hammer, creating a deafening ring throughout the entire chamber. Celestia smiled and left Luna to her work, the younger alicorn now humming to herself.

Her hammer sang as the day wore on; at times, it loud enough that if a pony on Canterlot's streets should pause and listen hard enough, they could hear its faint ringing, and Luna and Rarity's labours continued.

-G-M-

"Ahhhhhhh…"

Sweetie Belle paused and cocked her head to the side. She raised a hoof to her ear even while swiveling it to try and get a better read on the sound. "Hey, do you girls hear something?"

"Ah think Ah—" started Apple Bloom, but before she could finish, the three of them saw the screaming filly blindly galloping down the road. The eyes of all three Cutie Mark Crusaders widened considerably, but with the speed at which the filly was running, there was barely any time left to them to react.

They didn't use that time wisely, and instead decided to stare at the rapidly approaching foal. It came as no surprise then when the filly ran straight into the trio, scattering the four of them to the ground like bowling pins.

"Ow, my head," Scootaloo moaned, rubbing said body part as tenderly as she could. It didn't really hurt, much, but it was still a sudden blow. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head before looking up at the form of the filly currently collapsed across her barrel. "The flank is wrong with you?" she grouched. "Running around screaming like that?"

"Uh, heh-heh, sorry about that," the filly returned sheepishly. She got off of Scootaloo, for which the crusader was grateful, and extended a hoof to help her back up. In no mood at the moment, Scootaloo swatted the offered hoof away and got up under her own power. Now that Scootaloo looked at the foal, she realized that she was a unicorn. She also realized that she had never seen her before.

"It's just," the filly was continuing, "my brother and his stupid friend mentioned something about my parents that grossed me right out."

"And y'all had to run away screamin'?" Apple Bloom asked. The unicorn shuddered.

"When you know how babies are really made, and it clicks in that that's what your _parents_ did with each other, not just once, but _twice_, because you've got an older brother…" she trailed off, shuddering and making a gagging noise from the back of her throat. Scootaloo glanced away and rubbed a hoof against her foreleg.

"Never mind that," she said, quickly changing the subject. "Who are you? We haven't seen you around before."

"Oh, my name's Rei," the unicorn filly answered. "I just got here today."

"Hi, Rei, I'm Sweetie Belle," said the other unicorn. "This is Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo."

"Howdy," Apple Bloom greeted.

"Yeah, hi," added Scootaloo. "Listen, uh, Rei, our morning's been kinda sucky so far, and I guess yours has too, so do you know any way to make it better that doesn't involve running us over," she glanced at her front left hock, "or getting torn to pieces by a fluffball with claws?"

"Hey, Ah've got an idea!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Why don't ya come with us? There's nothin' better to get yer mind off o' stuff than a treat from Sugarcube Corner."

"That sounds good," Rei answered brightly. Her stomach rumbled audibly, causing her to blush. "And I think my stomach agrees since we skipped breakfast this morning to catch the train."

"I know what that feels like," Scootaloo lamented with a sympathetic smile.

"Then there's no time like the present," Sweetie Belle declared, and immediately began to lead the way.

It didn't take them very long to get to Sugarcube Corner, and Scootaloo had to giggle to herself when she saw the look on the unicorn's face when she saw the gingerbread-house bakery. "Come on in," she said. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake are really nice. I'll bet they'll give you something extra special on the house because you're new in town."

Scootaloo entered the bakery with renewed confidence and vigor in her step. So what if they hadn't earned their cutie marks this morning? Did that mean that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going to give up? Oh no they weren't! A minor setback, that was all this was, and something from Sugarcube Corner for their new friend would certainly get them back on track.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Scootaloo greeted, seeing the yellow earth pony stallion in the front and his blue earth pony wife at the counter. Carrot Cake had just been in the middle of putting a delicious-looking black forest cake up on a shelf, while Cup Cake was currently piping bright yellow icing onto a batch of fresh cupcakes.

"Oh! Good morning Crusaders," Mr. Cake said, spying all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders entering the shop. "How has crusading for your cutie marks been?"

Sweetie Belle sighed and displayed her blank flank. "No luck this morning," she said. "But…" her expression brightened and she pulled Rei up close. "We met a filly who's new in town!"

"Is that right?" Mrs. Cake asked. "Well welcome to Ponyville, dearie. What's your name?"

"I'm Rei," answered she, "my brother and I just got here from Canterlot this morning."

"Have you met Pinkie Pie yet?" Mr. Cake asked, looking down at her kindly. "I know she can be a little invasive and ignorant of personal space at times, but she has a heart of gold and is always there to make a friend smile."

Rei nodded quickly. "Actually, we have met Pinkie Pie! We met her in Canterlot and came back to Ponyville with us on the train. She's showing my brother and his friends around right now. She's really nice."

Mr. and Mrs. Cake brightened even more at the news that the filly had already met Ponyville's resident party pony and hadn't been scared away by her. "That's good to hear," Mrs. Cake told her. "Here, why don't you and your new friends have some of these cupcakes? Carrot, could you get a few milkshakes for these lovely young fillies while I check on the twins?"

"Sure thing honeybun," Mr. Cake said. He smiled at Rei again as he started to walk to the back. "Welcome to Ponyville, Rei. What flavour milkshake would you like?"

Scootaloo calmly moved towards the counter where the cupcakes were while Rei told Sugarcube Corner's proprietor what she liked. Free cupcakes and a milkshake just from meeting the new girl in town? Score! Cutie mark schmutie mark, free cupcakes!

The four sat down around a circular table at one of the few booths in the shop, with eight cupcakes to share between them and a milkshake each, before the conversation started again. "So why did Mr. Cake call you three 'Crusaders'?" Rei asked.

"That's the name of our club," Scootaloo said, puffing her chest out in pride. "We, the three of us, are the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"We're on a crusade, a mission, tah find our cutie marks," declared Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle nodded.

"Everypony's got a special talent," she said, "and that's what a cutie mark represents, a pony's very own special talent; so that's what we're doing, finding ours. Nopony wants to be a blank flank forever."

"And we're not going to stop being blank flanks if we don't go out there and discover what it is we're good at," Scootaloo said. She took a sip of her milkshake, and buzzed her wings excitedly and moaned as the flavour washed over her taste buds. "Mmm, razzleberry milkshake."

"Sounds fun!" Rei said. She took a sip of her milkshake and moaned in pleasure as well. "Can I join?"

Apple Bloom placed down the cupcake she had been about to bring to her lips. "But, Rei, I don't mean tah be mean or nuthin', but you've already got yer cutie mark." The cyan filly glanced down at her flank, and Scootaloo leaned her head over the table and took the opportunity to get a closer look at it. She'd never seen a cutie mark like it before, but it looked like it was a sword…in a loose sense of the word. "Uh, what is it?" Apple Bloom asked.

"That's Thunderbell," Rei answered proudly.

"What's a…Thunderbell?" asked Sweetie Belle. Rei giggled and reached out for a cupcake.

"I'm sure you'll see eventually," she told the other unicorn. "But your club sounds fun. It's just doing a whole lot of different things until you find out what makes you special, right? Have you tried waterskiing yet?"

Scootaloo gasped and then sent a conspirator's smile towards Rei. She knew there was a reason she liked this girl. "Waterskiing! It's perfect! Let's finish up here and then go find somepony in this town who knows a thing or two about waterskiing!" She raised her hoof into the air, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did likewise. They were about to hit them together for their traditional high-hoof, but paused. Scootaloo turned to Rei and nodded her head.

Four hooves struck together in the air above their table, and three voices belonging to three blank flanks declared,

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS WATER SKIERS! YAY!"

-G-M-

It had been a good door. It was built of some of the best lumber to have ever been cut from the Whitetail Woods. Sturdy, made of mighty oak, and always easy to swing on its well-oiled hinges. It was well cared-for, and had greeted many a pony in the morning, and said goodbye to many in the evening as those who came and went left for a drink or an evening of play or quality time with family. Protecting them from windy stormy weather, summer heat, winter cold, and the balls, playthings, and games of foals running through the street had been its duty. The door liked to think that in all its years of service that it had done a fine job, and that there were many more years left of service for it before termites, rot, or any other sort of ailment might force the door into retirement.

Rainbow Dash's rear hooves disagreed.

Cracks formed, splinters flew off, and its hinges were ripped from the frame as both halves of the door sailed through the air to land with an almighty crash against the door's brother, Rainbow Dash's oak desk. As the door lamented its fate and its brother soundlessly wailed for a tree doctor, the two ponies that had been sitting at the desk and thoroughly absorbed in an intense non-verbal discussion jolted back from each other like they'd received a thunderbolt to the chest. Both stared at the very angry rainbow-maned pegasus standing in the doorway. That door had been locked!

"Thunderlane! Cloudchaser! Break it up!"

"We weren't doing anything, boss, I swear!" Thunderlane shouted a little _too_ loudly. Rainbow Dash snorted and waved a hoof at him and Cloudchaser.

"Yeah, sure, and your wings aren't totally spread out. It's not like I haven't seen Cloudchaser sticking her tongue down your throat before, either." Both pegasi blushed and desperately averted their eyes from Rainbow Dash's. A white pegasus suddenly appeared behind Dash's shoulder, giving Thunderlane and Cloudchaser an evil grin beneath her green and pink mane.

"I _told_ you," Blossomforth said in a sing-song voice.

"Blossomforth," Rainbow Dash quickly snapped, "what did I tell you?" The other pegasus giggled.

"Sorry boss, I just had to see your reaction to catching them."

"Me too," Flitter said, suddenly poking her head in from over Dash's other shoulder. "Although, I really didn't think that even _you_ would be able to buck down the office door when it's locked up." Rainbow Dash sighed with a smirk.

"Okay, you've seen me bust your cousin, Blossomforth, and your sister, Flitter, so can you go back to work now?"

"Right away, Rainbow Dash," Flitter said, backing away and getting ready to take off. "Come on Blossom, we don't want to get on her bad side too."

"Right," Blossomforth said through a snort. She turned away from the mortified look Thunderlane was still exhibiting, gradually preparing to take her leave and enjoying every moment of her cousin's embarrassment. Dash playfully slapped her white flank with a cyan wing.

"Get going you two, or I'll have you pulling overtime, and you _know_ how much Cloudsdale hates it when we do that." She turned away from the pair just behind her in the broken doorway and fixed Cloudchaser with a commanding look. "Cloudchaser, get flying. You're supposed to be up with them gathering clouds for the shower we have scheduled for this afternoon."

"Yes ma'am!" the greyish-blue pegasus with a punk-styled pale blue and white mane said immediately. She and Thunderlane started to trot away from the unheard wails of the broken door and weeping desk when Rainbow Dash raised a hoof.

"Thunderlane, you stay here."

The two pegasi shared a quick, scared look, before Cloudchaser gave her coltfriend a quick nuzzle against his cheek. "See you later," she whispered.

"Maybe," Thunderlane replied, looking as though he had just swallowed a mouthful of rocks coated in shards of glass. Cloudchaser smiled sympathetically at him and started to leave before pausing beside Rainbow Dash.

"Be sure not to ruffle his feathers too much, Dash," she said, "I'd like to have all his parts in working order tonight."

"Oh don't worry," Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk, "you'll get your coltfriend back, but I don't make any promises as to what condition he'll be in." Still smiling, Cloudchaser nodded her head and left. A few seconds later she was up in the air, leaving poor Thunderlane to his fate.

The seconds passed by and Thunderlane watched Rainbow Dash with clear anxiety on his face. Awkward silence filled the air of the office of Ponyville's Weather Management Bureau. The building was only a single floor with three rooms, two of which had doors designating 'Mares' and 'Stallions' on them. Of the larger room there was enough space for twenty pegasi to move around in, albeit quite uncomfortably if there _were_ twenty pegasi gathered together as there were several pieces of furniture taking up some of the room. Maps, charts, and graphs stared down at the two pegasi from the walls, along with motivational posters, newspaper clippings, and some humourous jokes posted by the weather team.

The awkward moment marched ahead, oblivious to the tension it was causing the stallion in the room. Rainbow Dash had her head turned as she stared out the door into the sky, while Thunderlane could only look at Rainbow Dash's sides with eyes that just couldn't focus on one spot. Finally, he decided to break the silence with his boss. "Uh, if this is about me and—"

"One day."

"Uh…" Thunderlane spoke with perfect articulation. Rainbow Dash turned around fully and gave him a look that made the stallion's tail tuck between his legs like a shamed dog's.

"One day," Dash repeated. "I'm gone for. _One. Day._ And already we're behind schedule on this afternoon's shower, cloud busting over Ponyville Park and the eastern edge of the Whitetail Woods, and there are ten, _ten_, Thunderlane, overdue requests for localized drizzles to help maintain soil hydration. I don't want Carrot Top, Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily coming in here to complain again, Thunderlane, so what's the deal?"

"I…I don't know," the stallion told her.

"Wrong answer," Rainbow Dash declared, now beginning her advance into the building in earnest. "You're my second in command, Thunderlane. If everything falls apart when I'm not here for one day, then something's out of whack and I need to know what it is." She was muzzle to muzzle with him now, and dominating his anxiously awkward backpedalling with a glare every step of the way . "So are you going to tell me or what?" When Thunderlane didn't answer within three seconds, Rainbow Dash sent another barb at him. "Do I need to write a letter to Cloudsdale about you?"

Thunderlane inhaled sharply. "No!" he blurted out. "No, you don't need to do that?"

Rainbow Dash stomped. "Then what gives!"

"We're not all as fast as you are, Dash!" Thunderlane fired back. "Not all of us can afford to take three hours napping in the middle of the day just because we got all of our self-assigned cloud busting done in ten seconds."

"Aha! So because I'm the fastest flier in all of Equestria, the rest of you get lazy and can't pick up the slack when I'm not around, is that it?" Thunderlane flushed in indignation at his superior's accusation.

"That's not it at all," he growled.

"Well then tell me what's wrong with the weather team right now, that I need to fly around half the town to remind them of their duties for today when it's posted on the wall and supposed to be covered in the morning meeting, or else you're all going to be _really_ screwed over for the next few months," Rainbow Dash demanded.

That set Thunderlane back a pace. "Next few months?" he repeated. "What are you talking about?" Rainbow idly tapped a hoof against the necklace she was wearing.

"Notice anything different about me today?" she asked, deadpan.

"That's your Element, isn't it?" Thunderlane answered with a question. "Loyalty, right?"

"Yes," Rainbow answered, walking past him and pushing the two halves of the door from her desk. They dropped to the floor with a loud clatter.

"_You heartless beast!"_ screamed her desk, its pleas reaching for ears deaf to its voice. _"Can't you see my brother needs a doctor, not more beatings!?"_

"_Move your rump, blue-furred beetle!"_ shouted a round table that the weather ponies used for donuts and morning coffee. _"That was my cousin you mauled!"_

Blissfully unaware of the family drama that she was in the middle of between the pieces of furniture in the office, Rainbow Dash grabbed a sheet of paper in her mouth and placed it neatly in the centre of her sobbing desk while utilizing a wing to shift a vial of ink closer to the blank page. "And it's partially because of it that I'm going to be taking a leave of absence for an unknown period of time, which means that _you_ are going to be in charge so long as Cloudsdale accepts my recommendation."

"Re—rec—recommendation?" Thunderlane stuttered.

Rainbow Dash sat down and offered Thunderlane an apologetic smile. "Despite this morning, you're a good pony, Thunderlane. Cloudchaser wouldn't have picked you out if you weren't. Heck, she's even managed to get me to second-guess whether or not I should have gone after you or not."

Thunderlane blinked several times, his jaw opening wide. Rainbow Dash wondered if he would even notice the fly buzzing close to his mouth if it flew in and decided to winter in there.

"Ponyville needs its weather team to be on top of its game at all times," Rainbow Dash continued. "We're close to Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and have to deal with all of the wacky weather that the Everfree Forest sends our way. You're good, Thunderlane, not quite as good as me though, but definitely good. That's why you're my second and not your cousin, or Flitter, or Horsepower, or anypony else. I know that you're capable of managing the weather while I'm gone, so promise me that when I get back I won't find the town demolished."

Thunderlane snapped out of hus stupor, shaking his head and nodding several times. "I promise boss, you'll have nothing to worry about."

"I hope so," Rainbow muttered under her breath. She eyed him dubiously. "So…what's the first thing that you're going to do tomorrow when I don't show up?"

"Before I answer that," Thunderlane began, "just why is it that you're taking an extended leave of absence, again? You're not…you haven't…?" He trailed off, and it took a few seconds for Rainbow Dash to get at what he was suggesting. Her eyes widened at first, and then narrowed dangerously.

"Are you suggesting that I've been sleeping around or have a special somepony behind everypony's backs?"

"Er, uh, no!"

"Good," she admonished. "I'm going on a trip because Twilight Sparkle needs me. She may not ask for my help or be able to say that she wants it, but buck what she wants. I'm going with her whether she likes it or not."

Thunderlane recoiled slightly at the news before leaning in. "Twilight's leaving town?"

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. How could she have been so careless with her tongue? She'd have to improvise, and quick. She sighed. "Yes, Twilight's leaving. Not forever, though, she's just going on a trip because of some magic business that the Princess wants her to do. She'll be gone for a while and it might be a little more dangerous than she'd like. Therefore, as the most awesome and fearless pegasus in all of Equestria, and as one of Twilight's best friends, I'm going with her to let her know I've got her back.

"Which brings us back to me dumping the title of 'Temporary Weather Manager of Ponyville and Equus Valley' onto you," Rainbow finished. She placed her hooves together under her chin and looked speculatively at Thunderlane. "So, what's the first thing you're going to do when I don't show up tomorrow?"

"Make out with Cloudchaser. Oops, I mean…"

Rainbow Dash sighed again and rubbed her forehead with her forehooves. This was going to be a _looong_ meeting with her second.

-G-M-

Trixie nervously walked through Ponyville's streets. Though her nerves were beginning to subside a little, she found them just to be replaced by sadness. It seemed as though the ponies in the streets of town didn't take much notice of her at all. After Lyra and Bon Bon's reaction to her she would have figured that most of the town would be out to get her. However, it appeared as though everypony had forgotten her or simply didn't care that the travelling magician was back in their midst.

Forgotten…or indifferent, again.

_How could they have forgotten The Great and Powerful Trixie, when Trixie had performed spectacular feats of magic for them? When Trixie had entertained them and made laughs and smiles come from the mouths of their foals? How could they be indifferent to a pony who made them smile?_

_ Like Father was?_

Trixie gasped as another pony butted into her, shoving her to the side of the street close to a giant gingerbread house. "Outta my way, pony," said the stallion, the fattest earth pony she had ever seen before in her life. He had the face of a cat, if cats had faces compared to squashed tomatoes. "And I'd stay outta my way if I were a shrimpy thing like you." Trixie picked herself up from the ground as the stallion waddled away on his four legs and she gave her body a once-over. She froze.

There was a new rip in her cloak.

Something snapped inside and she sent the retreating stallion a heated glare. "Who do you think you are to push around the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

The dark-grey stallion stopped and turned around. He laughed in her face. "The Great and Powerful who?"

"Do you not know that you stand in the presence of the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, it's her again," somepony muttered nearby, stopping to awkwardly watch the scene unfolding in the middle of the lane.

"Is there going to be another Ursa attack?"

"Just don't tell Snips and Snails that she's back and we'll all be fine."

The fat grey stallion laughed at Trixie's proclamation. "Amazing unicorn? Well that's a new one. Listen girlie, just go back to your prissy pony prancin'. I don't gots the time for you or this sugar and sweets place; it's makin' me want to puke. I got me a boss to find."

Trixie blinked, stunned for a moment at the rudeness the stallion was showing her, and from the murmurs of the townsfolk that had stopped to watch, she could tell that they weren't too happy with him either.

"Did he just insult our town?"

"What was that he said about unicorns?"

Snarling, Trixie stomped her hoof. "How dare you!" she shouted. "There is nothing wrong with this town even if a few ponies can't stomach the awesome magic of the Great Trixie!"

The stallion narrowed his eyes at her and took a couple of steps closer to the blue mare. "You're starting to bug me, little miss high and mighty."

"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, it's not Trixie's fault that a brute such as yourself can't cope with a unicorn as great as Trixie." Surprisingly, the grey stallion laughed.

"Bwahaha! Them's fightin' words! Alright, amazing unicorn," he mocked, "you're gonna mess with me now, and nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the Mighty Pete!" He raised a hoof, and Trixie's eyes widened as a bowling ball with a sparking fuse stuck into it suddenly appeared in it.

"How—how did you?" she stammered, before he bowled the ball on the road right at her. Trixie was too stunned at its sudden appearance to avoid it. The bowling ball exploded in a cloud of smoke and flame when it struck her legs, and Trixie gasped. It hadn't impacted her with as much force as she'd expected, but it still sent tremors of pain through her hocks and the smoke was burning her eyes.

_Fine. If he wants to play games such as these, Trixie will oblige him!_

She leapt out of the cloud of dissipating smoke, part of her cloak smouldering slightly, and glared at the 'Mighty Pete'. Concealing the pain completely in a mask of indifference, she patted at her cloak. "Is that all that you've got for Trixie?" she sighed.

"Oh, you're in for it now, pony!" he snarled, throwing a bunch of what looked like marbles onto the ground by her hooves. Figuring that they were some kind of trick, Trixie activated her magic, channeling her arcane power through her horn as she cast a levitation spell over the marbles. They all became enveloped in the violet grasp of her spell, and she hurled them back at their owner.

Like pop rocks they began exploding against him, making him shout out in pain from the dozen little bursts of heat and force. Several ponies on the sidelines suddenly cheered and stomped, and Trixie looked to them in amazement.

The stallion snorted and glared at the watching ponies. He charged Trixie and reared onto his hind legs, a feat she found difficult to believe given his massive girth. "Get outta my way!" he shouted, punching left and right with his forehooves. Trixie was able to duck underneath his left hook, but found her cheek on the receiving end of a right cross. Wincing in pain and bowing back a couple steps, she didn't notice him jump into the air, but when he came crashing down the shockwave brought the magician down to her knees.

"Bwahaha!" he crowed, looking down at her. "I told ya nobody messes with the Mighty Pete!"

Hissing through her teeth and refusing to accept defeat, Trixie lit her horn again and cast another spell. Mist coalesced in the air around them, surrounding both her and the stallion. Getting onto her hooves, Trixie galloped past and taunted him. "The Mighty Pete has never encountered the Great and Powerful Trixie before!"

He spun around, staring into a bank of grey. "Aw, now what's this?" he asked. "Some kind of cheap trick? Well it's not gonna work on me!"

Trixie watched as he threw another randomly appearing exploding bowling ball into the mist, in the opposite direction. It was her spell; only she could see through the mists. She lit her horn again, careful to watch where her opponent was, as the light from her horn would mark her position and she did not want to get hit again by one of his bowling balls. Fireworks appeared on the ground in front of her, and Trixie quickly positioned them so they were facing the Mighty Pete.

She galloped towards him and leapt into the air like a gazelle. She smiled as her hooves pounded onto his back and he yelped. Jumping off of him again, she was gone into the mist before he could do anything but yell after her. She could hear the sound of him scattering his exploding marbles on the ground again, but they were nowhere near her. Trixie quickly conjured another small stack of fireworks, quietly moved away from them, and then pounced on his rump from a different position before leaping into the mists again.

"Come on out and fight you coward!" Mighty Pete shouted. "What's the matter? Can't face me like a real nag?"

Trixie's eyes flashed and she screamed through her teeth. A _nag_! The nerve of him! Igniting her horn in violet light, she picked up his pebbles again and threw them at him. At the same time, she set off her fireworks. From outside the mist, all one would be able to see would be the multicoloured flashes of light of her art exploding against him, though one would still hear the whizzes, bangs, screams, and pops of them going off.

But to Trixie, the sight was glorious.

She dispelled her mist as a number of ponies rushed out of the gingerbread house to see the commotion, and looked down at the earth pony in triumph. He was bowed low on the ground, and some of his fur was clearly singed. She chuckled in her throat, satisfied with her victory. But of course she had bested him. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, and a Guardian of Magic. Was there ever any doubt?

"Do you see now who the great one is, 'Mighty' Pete?" she asked, batting her eyes down at him mockingly.

"Pete…" a somewhat familiar voice gasped from the crowd at Trixie's back, but she paid it no attention. She had won, even though he had pulled some tricks out of nowhere, she'd gotten him—

Why was he laughing?

"If that's all you got, then I'm not impressed," he replied, shrugging and getting to his hooves. He leered down at the mare, and grinned at the shocked look on her face.

"Trixie has much more than that!" she snarled, bearing her horn. It glowed fiercely, and Trixie fired a stream of multi-coloured sparks from her horn. Mighty Pete stomped his hooves, and a transparent pink bubble surrounded him. Trixie's fireworks struck the bubble and ricocheted wildly. An orange flare came right back and slammed into her face, breaking her concentration.

"Trixie get out of there!" somepony shouted. "It's Pete! He's too strong! Run!"

"Wha…?" she asked, still dazed by her own firework striking her in the head. A cry of pain left her mouth as a bowling ball hit her in the chest, and Trixie fell to the ground. Her eyes were closed in pain, but her ears were still in perfect working order.

"Huh? And who are you?" Mighty Pete asked above the shocked gasps of the residents of Ponyville.

"Just leave Trixie alone, Pete," the voice said, Trixie finally realizing that the voice was Rei's, a shaky quiver evident in it. "Or I—I'll get my brother, and he'll—"

"Well well," Mighty Pete interrupted with a chuckle. "If it isn't the Keyblade twerp's runt of a sister? I'm sure Maleficent would just love to meet you." Trixie forced her eyes open, and saw Mighty Pete advancing towards a group of trembling fillies.

"Huh? Rei, do you know this guy?" asked the orange pegasus filly with a purple mane.

"His name's Pete," she answered. "He's a bully and bad news. But I'm not afraid of you, Pete!" she shouted, though from her body language it was clear that she was very, very afraid of him.

-G-M-

Sora stopped. The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. Interestingly enough, Pinkie halted her tour as she suddenly got a pinch in her knee.

"Sora, what is it?" Kairi asked.

"My big brother sense is tingling," he admitted.

"Well that's funny," Pinkie told him, "because my Pinkie Sense is acting up too. It's telling me that something scary is about to happen."

"I'm coming Rei!" Sora shouted, turning around and taking to the air.

-G-M-

"What's the matter, runt? Not gonna pick a fight with me like this loser did? You know all these namby-pamby ponies will get what's comin' to them, soon as I find Maleficent that is."

"Who the hay do you think you are?" Scootaloo shouted, quickly standing in front of her new friend. "Calling us all namby-pamby and Rei a runt?"

"I think he's a pony who's going to put loser blank flanks like you in their place," another filly said, walking closer from down the lane. Scootaloo whipped around.

"Diamond Tiara," she growled. Not far behind the stuck-up pink filly was her ever-present sidekick, Silver Spoon.

"I mean, look at the difference," Diamond Tiara continued. "A totally not special blank flank like you standing up to a giant stallion like him?" She giggled. "You'll be squished smaller than a pancake."

Growling, Scootaloo turned around again, and her ears promptly flattened against the side of her head as Mighty Pete stood practically right on top of her.

"Scram twerps!" he spat, "or things are about to get even uglier for you than for her."

"N—n—no!" Apple Bloom shouted in a squeak as she and Sweetie Belle moved to stand next to Scootaloo in front of Rei. "You can't have our friend!"

"Why would she want to be friends with a bunch of blank flanks like you?" Silver Spoon teased. "Can't she see you're not special at all?"

Scootaloo looked at Rei, her eyes begging with the filly she only just met that morning that she was worthy of their friendship, despite the teasing words coming from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Rei looked right back at her, fear in her violet eyes from the proximity of the giant stallion. Something suddenly sparked in them, and Rei's lower jaw trembled as she began to speak.

"B—because the—they were nice to me," she said, "and I'm not going to let you hurt them Pete!" she shouted, closing her eyes. Her horn began to glow with yellow light, and suddenly a beam of it, as thick as her head, shot out and struck Mighty Pete right in the jaw. He went stumbling backwards, nostrils flaring and holding his snout while snivelling in pain.

Scootaloo, no, _everypony_ stared at Rei with open mouths, and the cyan filly simply stared at the whimpering stallion in shock and disbelief. "How did you do that!?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know!" Rei answered. "That wasn't supposed to happen!"

The mare in the cape that had been contesting the stallion before got onto her hooves, and quickly stumbled past Mighty Pete towards Rei. She stumbled twice, but managed to keep her hooves under her and stood protectively in front of the four fillies. "Stay behind Trixie, girls," she said. "The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot allow her student to show her up in case he makes another move."

"Now wait just a second!" Mighty Pete said, shaking his head. "I ain't through wit'—" He flew headfirst into a building as another stallion delivered a powerful buck to his hindquarters. The newcomer was bigger than Mighty Pete, with a coat of crimson and a mane the colour of straw. A yoke was across his neck and shoulders, and Big Macintosh was glaring at the stallion who had threatened his little sister with all the smouldering fury of the Apple clan.

"Nope!"

Mighty Pete shook his head to clear it as he got to his hooves again. Scootaloo looked between the two stallions, a small smile forming on her face. Mighty Pete looked like he was going to explode in anger, and he sure was strange and big, but this was Big Macintosh! He was the only pony Scootaloo knew who could pull an entire house through Ponyville's streets while bouncing.

_Now that I think about it..._

"Hey, did we ever apologize to Miss Berry Punch about the Hearts and Hooves Day incident?" she asked her fellow Crusaders.

"I don't think so," Sweetie Belle answered.

"Hush up," Apple Bloom said. "Ah wanna watch mah brother kick his flank in."

"**PETE!**"

The universe, however, decided that that sight would have to wait, as a brown-furred pegasus stallion suddenly landed on the ground in the space between Mighty Pete and Big Macintosh. The pegasus' wings had sparks of lightning skittering between the flared feathers, and he was glaring so intensely at Mighty Pete that Scootaloo was certain he had to have some form of relation to Fluttershy. Nopony else had a Stare like that.

"You lay so much as a hoof on my sister and I will _end_ you!" the pegasus snarled. Thunder boomed in the sky above him, and Scootaloo stared at the newcomer in shock and awe. There was _lightning_ dancing on the tips of his feathers, and his mane was the wildest and spikiest she'd ever seen. With the clap of thunder it was like the weather itself was bowing to his anger.

"Sora," whispered Rei behind her.

"Who?" Scootaloo asked. She nodded her head at the brown pegasus.

"That's Sora, my big brother," she answered.

"Whoa…" all three Cutie Mark Crusaders exhaled. A flap of wings drew Scootaloo's attention to a pink pegasus landing beside Trixie, the new pony keeping a hoof to the red beret on top of her auburn and cherry mane.

"Are you okay, Trixie?" she asked worriedly. "You didn't get hurt too bad, did you?"

"Trixie is fine, Kairi," the showpony replied. "Just…just a little tired, and sore, and suffering a bruised ego, is all."

Kairi shook her head. "You shouldn't have gone up against him, Trixie, not until you're fully recovered; and just a couple of good meals and a night's rest isn't enough to do that. Pete may be a cowardly brute, but he plays too many dirty tricks in a fight."

"Cowardly?" Trixie asked. "He certainly showed a lot of nerve to shove Trixie to the ground like he did." Kairi pointedly nodded her head towards where Rei's brother, Big Macintosh, and Mighty Pete were standing. Only Sora and Big Macintosh actually were standing and glaring, though; Mighty Pete was collapsed on the ground with his forehooves over his head and was babbling something that Scootaloo couldn't make heads or tails of.

Scootaloo turned as a slight sniffling sound came from behind her. Rei's eyes were a little watery, but she was smiling. "Kairi," she said aloud, and trotted towards the pink pegasus. Kairi turned her head slightly, and smiled sympathetically at the cyan filly as she came to rest beside her. "I was scared…"

"It's okay, Rei," Kairi hushed, draping a wing around the foal, keeping her close and safe, "we're here. He's not going to get you." Rei smiled up at the mare and snuggled closer into her side. Scootaloo felt a needle stab at her heart.

_I wish I had somepony like that._

Kairi turned her head away from the filly she was comforting as more ponies ran down the street towards them. Scootaloo shifted closer to Kairi and Rei, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle slowly following, even as Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight and Spike came up close, along with a blue unicorn with a silver mane she'd never seen before. "What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"Pete," Kairi answered simply, nodding her head towards the pony still cornered between Sora and Big Macintosh. Sora's wings were no longer flared out and sparking with lightning, but Mighty Pete still cowered before him and Big Mac. Well, if he wanted to pick a fight in Ponyville and ended up against Big Mac, he'd be stupid not to stop fighting.

"Great," the new unicorn stallion remarked in a sarcastic drawl. He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Alright everypony, move along, nothing to see here. Elements of Harmony business; go back to your drinks."

"Did somepony say drinks?" Berry Punch asked. Another earth pony sighed and hooked a leg around the purple earth pony's neck.

"Come on," said Cherry Berry, "let's go."

Scootaloo and her fellow Crusaders kept close to Rei and the mare she was leaning against while the majority of Ponyville residents who had gathered reluctantly left the area. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked right past the Crusaders, noses high in the air.

"Even if the new filly likes you," Diamond Tiara told them in a haughty whisper, "that doesn't stop you from being the loser blank flanks you are." She whipped her tail up, slapping Sweetie Belle's nose, and Scootaloo glowered at the two bullies as they passed, even as she felt as though the wind had been knocked from her lungs. The pair of rich ponies completely ignored her look, and sauntered down the street.

Once everypony had cleared away, the mares all came together while the stallions cornered Mighty Pete against the wall of the building Big Mac had bucked him into. "Alright now," said Applejack, "what's this all about? Who is that big feller over there an'…Apple Bloom? What are y'all doing here? Have you finished yer homework and chores yet?"

"O' course Ah have, sis!" protested the farmer's young sister. "Big Mac wouldn't have let me come an' do crusadin' this morning if ah hadn't."

Fluttershy turned to look anxiously at Kairi. "Do you think we should send the girls away before we start? Can we talk in front of them?"

"Hey!" Scootaloo piped up. "Rei here's our friend. We stuck together back there, and if you can talk in front of her, you can talk in front of us."

"That's right!" Sweetie Belle added, with Apple Bloom nodding her head in agreement. Kairi turned to Trixie.

"Trixie, you were the only one who saw what happened before we showed up."

Trixie nodded her head slowly. "Trixie will admit that they did show a great deal of solidarity together even after seeing that con artist get the better of Trixie."

Scootaloo coughed a laugh. "Look who's talking," she muttered under her breath. Trixie glanced at her, but held her tongue. Kairi remained silent for a few seconds, likely thinking.

"Alright," she said at last, "but is there someplace more private where we could talk? The street's too open."

"We'll go to the library," Twilight decided. "It's nice and quiet and not a whole lot of ponies go there. It's sad, really. I wish that more ponies would come by and visit more often." Spike raised a claw. "And I don't mean Pokey Pierce or somepony else in the middle of the night because of some minor emergency they want me to fix." Spike lowered his claw again.

"Okay," Kairi agreed. "Let's do that."

"Wait!" cried Pinkie Pie. "I gotta plan your welcome party tonight!" She galloped into Sugarcube Corner and slammed the door. Everypony stared at the closed door for a second before Pinkie opened it again and stuck her head out. "Don't go anywhere!" She slammed the door closed again.

There were several seconds of silence.

"Uh…" Kairi began hesitantly. "The library?"

"_Anywhere…_"

*SLAM*

A few more seconds of silence passed. Kairi trotted over to the stallions and whispered something to Sora while he and the other stallions kept a firm eye on Mighty Pete, who nodded, and then returned to the group. "Okay, ready," she said. Twilight nodded her head, and began leading the group out, though Scootaloo couldn't help but be painfully aware that the formation the big ponies took put her, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Rei, and Spike in the centre between them, and all were looking warily around the street.

"Hey," Rei whispered, "for what it's worth, I thought you guys were really cool to stick up for me back there. That was really brave."

A smile found its way onto Scootaloo's face as Rei's words lit her up like the rising of the sun after Diamond Tiara's cold night.

-G-M-

"Alright," Applejack said once they were all gathered in the main floor of the library, with Spike and the young fillies safely upstairs despite their protests, "who's this Pete feller and what's he doin' here?"

Kairi glanced once more at the window, checking to make sure nopony was listening in from there, before answering. "He's a minor villain who works for Maleficent. He goes around to different worlds and uses the Heartless to stir up trouble and make more Heartless. My guess is that that's why the Heartless are here in the first place, because Pete showed up and brought them here."

"A minor villain?" Trixie asked. "So he's a lackey?" Kairi nodded her head. Trixie hung her head in shame and placed a hoof to her head just beneath her horn. "I was bested by a mere lackey!" she lamented in a voice just above a whisper.

"So they're not looking for the keyhole?" Twilight asked.

"No, the Heartless are still looking for the keyhole to the heart of Equestria," Kairi said. "It's just that they apparently haven't been completely directionless. Pete likes using them to make more Heartless in order to give Maleficent an army so that they can conquer worlds and rule them."

"So is he using them to attack other ponies with?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Probably not anymore," said Kairi. "Pete's probably going to run away the first chance he gets because we showed up, and while he dogged Sora, Donald, and Goofy a lot the last time they saved the worlds, he's finally lost the stomach to fight Sora directly."

"Why's do yah suppose that is?" wondered Applejack. Kairi swelled with pride and glanced out the window again, longing desire in her eyes.

"Sora's only ever grown stronger," she explained. "With every challenge and battle he's overcome he keeps growing stronger and stronger, and Pete's never been able to compare. It's only recently that he's fully realized that it's better to surrender and take advantage of how much we don't want to kill than it is to fight."

"So does that mean that the Heartless are going to just go?" Twilight asked. "Seems pretty anticlimactic to me if we beat them by just scaring their leader into surrendering."

Kairi shook her head. "You missed what I said earlier. The Heartless are still going to be looking for the keyhole to your world, so Equestria's not out of the woods yet. Do you have any ideas as to where it could be?"

"It's not here in Ponyville?" Twilight asked.

"If it is, either it's hiding really well after Pinkie Pie's very thorough tour of the town, or there's a freaking puzzle requirement needed to unhide it."

The other ponies looked confused. "A puzzle requirement?" Fluttershy asked.

"Are there any switches, levers, or bells that need to be triggered in town, either three times or in a certain sequence, in order for other objects or buildings to appear or change in certain ways?" Kairi asked, deadpan.

"Nope," said Applejack.

"Then it's not here," Kairi declared simply.

"Then where in the wide, wide world of Equestria are we supposed tah start lookin' for the keyhole then?" Applejack asked.

"I wish I knew," Twilight said, starting to pace. "I really don't want to disappoint Princess Celestia."

"Kairi," Trixie began, "it would help if we were to know what sorts of places these 'keyholes' tend to be found in. That would then allow us to narrow our search to these areas."

"Trixie, that's a great idea!" Twilight exclaimed.

Trixie smiled smugly. "Trixie does have a question, however."

"Shoot," said Kairi.

"What are the significance of this 'keyhole' and the 'heart of Equestria' you keep talking about?"

"Oh, right, you weren't conscious when we explained it," Kairi groaned, facehoofing. "Okay, abridged version. Heartless are creatures made of pure darkness or hearts that have been corrupted and fallen into darkness and they seek the hearts of other living things to make them fall into darkness too. They also go after the strongest and most powerful hearts, like the hearts of worlds themselves. The way to reach the heart of a world is through the keyhole to its heart, and if they are able to corrupt the heart of the world, then it will fall into darkness and the world is destroyed. Keyblades, like yours or mine, are able to seal these keyholes and so prevent the destruction of the world. When they can't get at the heart, generally they leave the world alone. But since they're made of the darkness within people's hearts and there is darkness within almost every heart, they'll always exist."

"So…we're looking for the keyhole so that Equestria doesn't…fall into darkness? Is that correct?" Kairi nodded. "So, again, where do the keyholes of worlds tend to be found in?" Trixie repeated.

"Where the final boss is," Kairi snorted. "And the final boss can be found near the keyhole, but the keyhole is _usually_ in some place of significance to the world. Sora's told me that that's not always the case, though. Never Neverland's keyhole was in a giant clock tower called Big Ben, but Deep Jungle's was on a tree in a cave behind a waterfall, and Wonderland's was in the keyhole mouth of a talking doorknob."

"Then…then it could be anywhere," Fluttershy said. "It could take us weeks of searching and we still wouldn't find it."

"Not necessarily," Twilight said, waving her hoof. Her eyes started scanning the library's many bookshelves. Her horn lit up, and multiple books became encased in a magenta glow and she brought them down so she could examine them in a line one-by-one. "A place of significance, a place of significance…Applejack, could you get Spike for me?"

"Sure thing, Twi," replied the farmer.

Applejack quickly climbed the stairs and opened the door and was greeted with the unexpected, though also unsurprising, result of having a heap of four fillies and a baby dragon roll past her and down the stairs. Twilight didn't take any notice of this, instead proceeded to address the dragon, "Ah, Spike, could you find _The Explorer's Equestrian Almanac_ for me? It might have just what we're looking for in it."

"_The Explorer's Equestrian Almanac_ coming right up!" Spike complied hastily, extracting himself from the pile of hooves and fur at the base of the stairs.

"Girls, what were you and your friends doing?" Fluttershy asked knowingly.

"Eavesdropping," Rei answered proudly.

"You ratted us out."

"The evidence was stacked against us. A guilty plea with give us a lighter sentence."

"Are we going to get in trouble for this?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nah, sugarcube, we're not upset with ya'll," Applejack told her. "We jus' don't want you fillies to get too involved in this; it's dangerous."

"There's always the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters deep in the Everfree Forest," Twilight mused. "It is where we got the Elements of Harmony from, after all. The keyhole could be there."

"Sorry for being blunt, but I figure that that was intended," Kairi told her.

"What makes you say that?" Trixie asked.

"Well, from what I've gathered, Princess Celestia's pretty much immortal, right? So after she banished Princess Luna to the moon after she went insane about a thousand years ago, she knew that her sister would be coming back in a thousand years and let that information slip out as a prophecy that got lost in time. After leaving the old castle and building Canterlot, probably out of grief, she left the Elements in the old castle, and made sure that that information was available in the _Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide_ book that was 'conveniently' placed within the Ponyville library that she arranged for you to stay in. Celestia's a chessmaster."

Scootaloo pointed a hoof at Kairi after a few seconds. "Either you're really smart, or that's a lot of coincidences." Kairi shrugged.

"Just a theory I've been coming up with after hearing the story," she said. Meanwhile, Spike had found the book Twilight asked for, and now she was flipping through its pages with a manic intensity.

"Heart of Equestria…" murmured Sweetie Belle. "Heart of…the Fire of Friendship?"

"What was that?" Trixie asked.

"The Fire of Friendship, the Hearth's Warming story!" Sweetie Belle declared excitedly. "Remember? The Fire of Friendship that was formed when the three tribes stopped fighting and founded Equestria! It was in the shape of a big glowing pink heart!"

"What's this story?" Kairi and Rei both asked eagerly.

"It's a Hearth's Warming story that's told every year during the winter," Sweetie Belle said, just as eager to tell it as Kairi and Rei were to hear it. "Long ago, before Equestria was Equestria and before the Princesses ruled, the ponies were divided into three tribes: the unicorns, the pegasi, and the earth ponies, but nopony got along really well with anypony of another tribe. Earth ponies grew food for themselves, the pegasi, and the unicorns; the pegasi controlled the weather, and the unicorns together moved the sun and moon. However, their feelings of distrust for the other tribes grew and grew until a terrible winter storm hit them all. Their leaders couldn't come to an agreement, so they each left in order to find a new land where they could live. By chance, all three leaders, and their aides, came to the same place at the same time, and the leaders started fighting over it. As soon as that started, it began snowing like crazy in their new home, and all six ponies took shelter in a cave. The leaders kept fighting and bickering in the cave, and the entrance iced over and the leaders froze in blocks of ice. Then Clover the Clever, the unicorn assis…assis—assistant!—to Princess Platinum, saw that the winter was caused by winter spirits called Wintergos, which fed on hatred and made everything as cold as the cold hearts of hatred.

"But…the three assistants—Private Pansy, Smart Cookie, and Clover the Clever—realized that _they_ didn't hate each other, and that they were all ponies, and became friends. A giant burning pink heart suddenly appeared out of Clover's horn, and they kept the Fire of Friendship warm through the night by telling stories and singing songs. Eventually the warmth of the fire reached their leaders and melted the ice around them, and their hearts. The wintergos vanished, the new land thawed, and together they named it Equestria."

Twilight had stopped reading her book while Sweetie Belle told the story, and she nodded her head with a smile on her face. "Very good Sweetie Belle, except that they're windigos, not wintergos."

Sweetie Belle blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Heh-heh, thanks Twilight. I always forget that."

"And thank you, Sweetie Belle," Kairi said. "That cave sounds like the place we're looking for. Does anyone know where it is?"

"No, Trixie does not know its location," said the unicorn, "and she doubts that anypony else in this room does." Kairi groaned.

"Then we could still be looking at weeks of fruitless searching!" she said.

"Hold on to your beret, Kairi," Twilight declared with a confident smirk on her face. "If you're looking for a research assignment, then I'm your mare. All the information I need to find that cave's location is right here."

"Are you sure, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "We know that you are really smart an' everything, but…"

"Don't worry Applejack," Twilight said. "Just leave everything to me. Spike, please find me a copy of _The Founders of Equestria: Clover the Clever, 1__st__ Ed._"

"Figured you'd start with that one," Spike said with a slight smile. "Besides Starswirl the Bearded, she is your most favourite historical unicorn."

"Spiiike, the book please."

"Coming right up milady!"

"We'd best be goin'," Applejack said quietly to Kairi. "When Twi gets like this, almost nothing can break her out of it until she's done."

"Alright," Kairi agreed. "Then we'll go let Sora and Riku know that we've got a lead on the keyhole and get ready for Pinkie's party tonight."

-G-M-

_ Sora: (looks at the word count) "Um…"_

_ Shire: "Hahahaha! A chapter length worthy of my reputation for lengthy chapters."_

_ Sora: "What was the longest one you wrote again?"_

_ Shire: (sitting down and clapping his forehooves together proudly over his typewriter) "Ah, yes, chapter twelve of __**Light's Growth**__, _To the Ford of Bruinen_. Fifty-nine Word pages at 12pt Times New Roman font and clocking in at over thirty thousand words. Such a glorious chapter of you, Kairi, Anti-Sora, your two digimon partners, four hobbits, Strider, Glorfindel, Pete, and Heartless."_

_ Sora: "I'm going to tell you again that I'm glad that this story you've put me in shouldn't be as dark as that one."_

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_

_P.S. Catch me in the credits for the Bronies documentary!_


	14. The Whitetail Woods

_Today's chapter brought to you by dragons, because every situation can be made better or worse with a dragon tossed in._

_Disclaimer: If I owned MLP, the Gameloft game would give you a gem on day one, two on day two, three on day three, four on day four, and five on day five before repeating the process. That way it wouldn't be almost necessary to spend money to get all Mane 6 ponies._

-G-M-

**Guardians of Magic**

Chapter 13: The Whitetail Woods

Applejack woke with a grumble and groan at the crack of dawn. Pinkie Pie's Ponyville party for the new arrivals to their world, and Trixie, had gone later than expected. Vinyl Scratch had been the DJ and just kept on playing more and more music, especially after Kairi had produced a rectangular object from her saddlebags that somehow had the capacity to hold hundreds of times more music than any of Vinyl's records, and Vinyl Scratch somehow managed to use her fangled unicorn magic to get the thing hooked up to her speakers!

None of the foals wanted to go until they fell asleep on their hooves because there were so many new and different songs for them to listen to. Riku mentioned that they were doomed as soon as Sora requested that Vinyl play a song called _Run to You_ by somepony named 'Bryan Adams' (a singer whose style of music Applejack found similar to her late mother's cousin, Baked Apples), and Kairi followed up by asking for a ditty called _Run With Us_ from a certain 'Lisa Lougheed' (a name AJ knew _nopony_ similar to).

For some reason, Trixie had seemed entranced with that song, but Vinyl just kept playing more and more music from the strange little box until Mr. and Mrs. Cake finally told Pinkie Pie that she needed to shut the party down because it was running close to half past midnight and the twins needed their sleep.

All in all, though, Applejack had had a good time, and she was certain that Apple Bloom did too. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Rei, and even Trixie seemed to have enjoyed themselves too, though Sora did embarrass himself when he tried standing up to attempt performing the 'Time Warp' as per Lyra's instructions after the unicorn discovered his 'interest' in humans. Trixie's mood went over the moon, too, when the town collectively decided to give her a second chance after her encounter with Pete, and she even dedicated a half-hour of her time there to giving a magic show to the foals that were present.

While rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get the sleep out of them, Applejack thanked Celestia that Big Mac and the others had run Pete right out of Ponyville soon after she, the other girls, and Spike had left for the library. If he was some sort of bad guy from another world, she didn't want him anywhere near her town.

Applejack yawned and went to the window of her room, basking in the red and gold glow of the freshly rising sun. A bubble of pride swelled in her chest as the light filtered through the still-green leaves of the trees in the orchard and bounced off of ripe apples. They probably had one last good harvest to get in before winter would settle down for a while. Some figures were already moving down below in front of the barn, but the proud farmer had to pause for a second when she realized that the ponies down there in the early morning light weren't her kin.

She smiled. "Well butter mah biscuits. After yesterday, Ah never woulda taken them fer early risers." Turning away from the window, she looked instead to a mirror and a brush, and worked to get the tangles out of her mane before the day began in earnest. "Ah wonder what it is they're up to."

-G-M-

"Come on now!" urged Sora as Rei galloped past him again. "You can do it! Just two more laps!"

"Onii-chan! You said that three laps ago!" Rei whined before quickly drawing as deep a breath as she could. She almost lost her hoofing rounding the corner, but quickly recovered and proceeded back up to a canter. As much as spit was lathering in her mouth and her limbs were burning, Rei had missed this the previous morning. Ever since a week after she'd first summoned Thunderbell, Sora had woken her early in the mornings to exercise and practice her swordsmanship. Kairi often joined them, but this morning her brother's girlfriend was practicing on her own.

Rei collapsed onto the ground a few moments after Sora told her that she could stop and, even though she was annoyed with her master and wore a frown on her face, inside she was smiling. Despite the friends she had made and the many things she'd already seen on this adventure from her home, these painful moments where she _loathed_ her brother were some of her favourites, simply because they were the moments where the two of them had time with each other without too many obvious distractions.

"You ready?" Sora asked her after a couple of minutes' break. Rei silenced her groan and got to her hooves.

"What next, Hoshisho-sensei?" she asked. In answer, the Oblivion Keyblade appeared in his mouth in a flash of light. _Of course: sparring. _Sora suddenly flapped his wings and took to the air. Thunderbell appeared in Rei's own mouth in a flash of light, and she bit down on the grip while shuffling back a few steps. Her brother barely gave her any more time than that to react, swooping down and twisting his neck to strike. Rei spun, following his movements and deflecting his stroke up above her head. Sora flew back up into the sky, and Rei kept her front to him as he banked and came diving back in.

For a minute they kept this up, Sora treating her like the dummy in a joust and Rei constantly keeping his Keyblade from scoring a hit. Finally he stopped short to slam his Keyblade down from directly in front of her, not attempting a pass. Rei managed to block, but she had to bite down with all the strength her mouth could grant to keep Thunderbell from slipping out from her teeth. Sora stayed airborne, pressing Rei back with quick, sweeping strokes.

Rei's knees buckled as she held back another powerful blow and her neck wavered in its ability to keep up her resistance. Sora pressed and kept placing more pressure on her, and for a few seconds Rei was able to hold, but eventually it became too much for the filly and her teeth slammed against each other instead of the white-gold wire wrap of the grip. Thunderbell flashed in the sunlight as it tumbled to the ground. Rei winced at the sound of Sora lightly touching down, and bowed her head.

She could hear both Oblivion and Thunderbell vanishing, and was able to see hers disappear in a flicker of white. A couple seconds of silence followed, broken only by their breathing instead of the shrill clash of metal against metal. Sora's hoof touched her forehead, and Rei looked up in surprise at his smiling face.

"Good job," he told her. He vigorously rubbed her mane just behind her horn, smirking as Rei whined and pulled back with a swinging hoof. He let her knock his away and chuckled. "That's the longest you've held out so far. I told you that you were getting better."

Rei's eyes shone with the pride his words put in her. "Thank you very much, onii-chan!" She said, bowing her head again. "I'll be sure to work hard to do even better next time!"

Sora placed a hoof under her chin and raised it so that their eyes could meet. "Well, let's leave next time until we have arms and hands again," he said. "Mom'll kill me if I make you hurt yourself while training."

"Then how am I supposed to practice?" Rei asked. Sora looked up, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well…didn't you learn some sort of levitation spell from Trixie?" he asked. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile. Rei blinked.

"Yes, but…oh!" Realization dawned on her face and she beamed. "Can I start learning and using magic then?" Sora nodded, and Rei squealed and stomped her hooves. Magic, finally!

"But first," Sora told her, "we should probably hit the showers and see about breakfast with Applejack. Then we're off to Twilight's. Magic's going to have to wait until we're on our way, kapiche?"

"'Kay."

-G-M-

"Hey, uh, Twilight?"

Groaning and positively hating whatever foolish being was pulling her from her dream of being lost in a library with a hundred floors and ten million books, Twilight shoved her pillow further into her face to keep away the rays of Celestia's sun. "_What?_"

"Can I use your shower?"

"_Uhgh!_ Yes, you can use the shower, Riku, now let me sleep." Promptly denying the stallion a second thought on her mind, Twilight tightened the blankets around her body and snuggled into her pillow.

Unfortunately, a few minutes passed by and Twilight was absolutely no closer to getting back to sleep. Spike had forgotten to close the blinds, letting in all sorts of harsh sleep-preventing light from her mentor's cursed sun, and the sound of running water and murmuring from her bathroom could be heard.

Thinking perhaps that Riku was calling to ask her something, Twilight opened her eyes, looking longingly at her pillow, and finally sighed before getting to her hooves. "What was that, Riku?" she asked. She yawned and slowly plodded her way down the stairs from the bedroom area of the loft above the library towards the bathroom.

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks.

Trixie was already up, and was standing by the bathroom door that was just open by a crack and spying within. The other part that made her stop was that Riku hadn't shouted out a call for something, now she could discern that he was _singing_ in the shower. Twilight couldn't quite make out the words, though, so her natural curiosity bid her to do the only thing that made any sense.

As quietly as she could, the unicorn tip-hoofed her way over to where Trixie was standing. The other unicorn turned to look at her when she heard Twilight approach, first in surprise, and then with a lecherous smile. "Trixie thought you were more honourable than to spy on stallions while they showered."

"I want to know what he's singing," Twilight insisted. Trixie raised an eyebrow while her smirk remained. They held for a moment, and Riku's voice came crystal clear over the running water of the shower.

"_I got passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it,  
show it, show it, show it.  
I'm sexy and I know it.__"_

Twilight stared at the crack between the door and the wall as an intense mental conflict arose. For years she had avoided the tittering gossip of the other fillies and mares at school about colts and stallions. None of their rampant flirting and stallion-chasing was at all practical to their valuable study time, nor would arguing about whether physical strength made a stallion more attractive than magical power assist in their own ability to properly learn and cast spells, or memorize the fifteen feats of Grand Archmage Evenstar the Faithful. She had her own ambitions and desires, and romantic relationships would take away precious time dedicated to her studies. She wouldn't be able to complete her degree if she spent every third hour dedicated to a coltfriend or marefriend, not that she _was _of that persuasion, at least, as far as she knew she wasn't attracted to mares in that way. No, she liked stallions, she was sure of it!

Twilight shook her head quickly at the thought and turned away from the bathroom door. Gak! She didn't have time to be thinking about this. She needed to check up on Spike and Sweetie Belle, make sure that breakfast was being prepared, review the notes she'd made last night on her assumptions as to where they could find the cave that the founders of Equestria took shelter in, eat breakfast, review her notes again, make sure that Owloycious was comfortably asleep in his nook just outside the kitchen window, and triple-check her notes before holding the briefing.

"_Girl, look at that body. Ah…  
Girl, look at that body. Ah…  
__Girl, look at that body.  
__I-I-I work out!__"__  
_

Her mind went blank, and Twilight's tongue traced a path around her lips. Of course, the study of biology did have some..._interesting_ aspects. Twilight lit up her horn as she cast a spell. A small notebook and a quill levitated over to her position and she turned around again, catching Trixie looking at her with knowing eyes. She blushed, and made a giggle she knew she was supposed to be ashamed of but just couldn't bring herself to be. "Scoot over."

"You can just see his flank at the edge of the tub," Trixie whispered. "He didn't get the curtain closed the whole way."

-G-M-

Scootaloo moaned comfortably as she slipped out of slumberland. The comfiest blanket she'd ever slept under was wrapped overtop of her form, and she snuggled deeper into the mattress beneath her legs. It was so soft, soft as cloud even, and much, much better than the hardwood floor of the clubhouse. Her fur felt nice and warm against her hide. It was like a dream.

Except that it wasn't a dream; it was far too real, and far too unfamiliar. Where the hay was she!?

The blanket went flying off of her body and mane as she stood up too sharply, and abruptly lost her hoofing and nearly toppled out of the bed. She stared down at the substance beneath her hooves in surprise.

"So it _is_ made of cloud," she whispered, awed. Scootaloo slowly raised her head. Not only was the bed made of cloud, but so was the ceiling…and the walls too! Adorning one wall above a chest of drawers was a poster of a white pegasus stallion with a teal mane and tail standing on a cloud in front of a sunrise and a smoke trail created by five other pegasus ponies, all six of them wearing the same blue and gold flight suits.

"Where am I?" Scootaloo wondered aloud. She hopped off of the bed, bounced slightly on the checkered-patterned cloud floor, and looked up at the poster of the Wonderbolt again. She wondered who he was. He certainly wasn't on their current roster, according to Rainbow Dash. None of the current Wonderbolts had teal manes.

"Morning, squirt."

Scootaloo jumped a figurative mile at the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice and sharply turned towards its source. Standing in the room's open doorway was nopony other than the rainbow-maned most awesome mare in Ponyville herself, though her awesomeness was slightly mitigated by the loud and wide yawn currently spreading her jaw to unbelievable proportions.

"Rai—Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Rainbow Dash finished her yawn and gave the filly a small smirk. "I live here, duh." Scootaloo's mouth dropped open and her mind centred fully on the one thought now circling around and around in her head:

_I'm in _the _Rainbow Dash's house!_

Dash kept on smiling as she walked into the room. She chuckled a little. "Sorry 'bout the guest room not having a lot of stuff. I don't often have house guests overnight. Uh…" she turned her head away. "You mind not staring so much Scoots? It's kinda freaking me out."

Scootaloo blushed and snapped her mouth shut. She quickly looked away from Rainbow Dash, mentally kicking herself for making her idol uncomfortable. _Come on Scootaloo! You're in Rainbow Dash's house with Rainbow Dash! This is your chance to show her how cool you are._

Turning back around and smiling at her idol, Scootaloo gestured around with a hoof. "This is a great place you've got Rainbow Dash. I've never seen anything like it before."

"First time in a cloud house, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, swelling. "I built it myself, and it is pretty rad, but nothing on the ground beats a cloud house for a pegasus. We belong up here in the sky." She looked curiously at Scootaloo. "Say, how's your flying coming along?"

Scootaloo swallowed and flapped her wings as hard and rapidly as she could. She could feel thrust, but it was nowhere near enough to lift her body. Her hooves were far easier to look at instead of the best flier in Equestria. "Still nothing," she lamented.

"No wonder," Rainbow said with a frown, "your technique is all wrong. It's like you're trying to be a hummingbird instead of a pegasus. What kind of lessons have your folks been giving you?"

"Hey Rainbow Dash, who's that?" Scootaloo asked quickly, pointing to the Wonderbolts poster, the only real defining feature of the room. "I don't think you mentioned him being on the team."

Rainbow Dash smiled again as she looked at the poster. "Scootaloo, that is Storm Cell. He was Captain of the Wonderbolts back when I was a little filly in Cloudsdale. He was Captain for nine years before Spitfire took over, and holds the current record for the longest endurance run in Wonderbolts history, flying the Derby's circuit for four days, three hours, forty-six minutes and ten seconds for thirty-one thousand three hundred and thirty-seven laps. Also won twelve consecutive Derbies at one point."

"Whoa," said Scootaloo, staring at the former Wonderbolts Captain in awe. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in agreement before looking down at Scootaloo.

"So, you hungry for breakfast, kiddo? Or are you still full from all that food you ate last night?"

Scootaloo chuckled sheepishly and looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Uh, sure, heh-heh. Um, about last night…I don't exactly remember getting here."

"I brought you," Rainbow Dash stated matter-of-factly. "You and your friends were totally passed out when the Cakes called it quits, and Applejack and none of the rest of us actually knew where you lived, so…yeah, here you are." She glanced at the wall before looking back at Scootaloo. "Listen, I've got someplace to be this morning and your folks are probably worried, so we should probably eat something quick so you can run home and tell 'em you're okay and I can go to the lib…where I need to go."

"Oh…" Scootaloo felt her spirits plummet and her ears flattened against the side of her head. "I had hoped that…maybe…you might want to hang out today; show me some more of your awesome moves that you've been practicing."

Rainbow Dash sighed and turned away. "Sorry Scoots, but I've got Elements of Harmony saving the world junk to do. But, as soon as I get back, how about I give a certain little filly a whole day of awesomeness?" She turned her head over her shoulder and greeted Scootaloo's eyes with a smile that sent the perkiness right back into the filly.

"You've got a deal, Rainbow Dash!"

"Great," her idol told her. "Now we should have a quick breakfast. Hey, have I shown you Tank yet? I know that a tortoise may not be the _coolest_ pet in the world, but my buddy's more loyal than any dog and has got more guts than Fluttershy on Opal's bath day."

-G-M-

"Alright, is this everypony?" Twilight asked a short while later when her friends and Sora, Kairi, and Rei had arrived at the library.

"Looks like it," Applejack said. "Though we almost made it here one filly short."

"Hey, I caught Rei every time," Sora pointed out. "Right, Rei?"

"Mmhm," the filly agreed with a nod and smile. "Thanks again for letting me ride on your back, Sora-nii. It was really fun!"

"That's because flying is awesome," Sora said with a superior look at Riku, who rolled his eyes. Rainbow Dash laughed and gave Sora a hoof-bump while agreeing with him.

"So what's the scoop, Twilight?" Pinkie asked. "Where can we find the heart?" Twilight raised her head and her horn became enveloped by her magic's glow. A large map of Equestria floated out of a library shelf and unfurled on the round table in front of them.

"Now, according to the records kept by Clover the Clever, Smart Cookie, and Commander Hurricane, the three tribes travelled to what became Equestria from the south. From the descriptions in their accounts, all three of them crossed over the Stallionback Mountains at the southern border of Equestria and went through the San Palomino Desert or the Macintosh Hills and kept a wide berth to the west of the Everfree." As she spoke, Twilight was levitating three separate coloured pencils (one blue, one orange, and one purple) and drawing lines with them on the map. "Now, they forded a river and traveled through a wood before crossing another mountain range into a valley. According to Smart Cookie, the land here was very fertile, and in the mountains behind them Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever found many valuable gemstones. When the three tribes discovered each other and Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Commander Hurricane started bickering with each other again, they had to retreat to the mountains to take shelter from the storm of the windigos."

"So how's that supposed to help us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Rainbow, look at the map," Twilight said encouragingly. "Those three ponies have already shown us exactly where we can go to start looking for the cave that they sheltered in. The fertile fields that Smart Cookie mentioned could only be Equestria's primary farm country in the—"

"Great Oat Meadows," Applejack finished for her, tapping her hoof at the map. "Ah've gone there on Apple family business a time or two, an' I remember seein' a bunch o' mountains south of Yonder Hill where some of our kin live."

"That's the Unicorn Mountain Range," Twilight said. "In the past there were many mines in those mountains for their precious gems. Most of them have closed down after ponies got tired of working them or the gems were mostly exhausted, but a few are still active today and there are still some mining towns that haven't become ghost towns."

"So what you're saying is that the place where the founders of Equestria took shelter from the storm of distrust and hatred is somewhere right here," Riku said, tapping his hoof at a general area on the northern side of the Unicorn Range just a little to the west of Canterlot and Mount Ponylon.

"Correct."

"So, uh, how long is this going to take?" Spike asked. "The Princesses probably want us to find the keyhole and seal it as soon as possible. That way, Equestria won't be swallowed up in darkness because of the Heartless, right?" He glanced at Sora's band, to which the four ponies nodded their heads.

"Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie's journals spoke of a pass through the Unicorn Mountains," Twilight said. She circled a place on the map, in-between two of the stylized peaks of the mountains of the range. "I'm confident that it's Ambling Mare's Pass. If we make good time and don't encounter too many surprises, we can be on the other side in three days' time. Either on the way through the pass or once we're through, finding the cave shouldn't be much of a challenge, since the three tribes didn't have much time to search for shelter out in the open on the Great Oat Meadows. I've sent a letter to Princess Celestia; she agrees with my deductions and sent word that Rarity will meet us there."

"Good thing too," Applejack said. "Ah'd completely forgotten, but our Elements won't work if we're not all accounted for, right?"

"Not necessarily," Twilight said, looking up at her big crown thingy. "They might still function, but certainly not with their full power. If we were to come across a foe like Discord, I wouldn't bet on them getting us out of it."

"That's where we come in," Kairi said with a definite nod. "Don't worry, Twilight. We'll handle the rough stuff."

"Three days?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh dear, I'll need to find somepony to look after Angel and all my little animal friends while we're gone."

"I'm sure you'll find somepony, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash told her. "And when you do, see if they can care of Tank, too, but you'd better find somepony quick. The fate of Equestria is in our hooves. We'll meet at Town Hall in an hour."

Twilight nodded. "Agreed." She turned to look at the one mare in the group who hadn't spoken. "Trixie, I know that you're new to all of this. Saving the world isn't something that can be asked lightly of anypony. If you'd like to stay behind here in Ponyville until we get back, I understand. You still haven't fully recovered from your past hardship."

Trixie returned Twilight's concerned and friendly look with one of smug confidence. "If you think that the Great and Powerful Trixie is afraid of a little cross-country trek and some danger then you are highly mistaken, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie has travelled all across Equestria in every kind of weather. I will show you, show everypony, that Trixie still has what it takes to be great and see her glorious sunrise."

Rei looked up at Sora. "Why's she talking about the sunrise?"

"I think she's speaking metaphorically, Rei," Kairi answered.

"Meta…what?" The older ponies chuckled.

"You'll learn about it in school when you're older," Twilight told her. Sora nudged the filly towards the door with one of his wings.

"Go on, Rei," he said. "I know that you want to see Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom again before we head out. Just make sure that you're at Town Hall in an hour." She gave him a very quick hug before racing out the door. Two seconds later, she came back in.

"Um, onii-chan, where's Town Hall again?"

"It's that really big round towery important-looking building in the centre of Ponyville of course," Pinkie Pie reminded her. Rei's cheeks took on a delicate, rosy hue.

"Oh, right. See you in an hour!" And with that, she was off.

Twilight Sparkle turned to the rest of the ponies in the library. She looked over all of them, feeling completely calm and comfortable in the role she'd unconsciously taken on for their group since the very beginning. "Alright everypony, you each have one hour to see to your preparations. When you're finished, meet up in front of Town Hall so that we can be on our way."

"Yeah!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile at the cheer that her friends put out. Pinkie Pie galloped out of the library right away, with Rainbow Dash flying out in a close second and Applejack just behind. Fluttershy was muttering to herself, trying to list possible candidates for looking after her critter friends, as she left too. Twilight raised a hoof to stop one pony. "Oh, Sora, could you stay here for a minute? I'd like a word with you." The stallion shared a quick look with Kairi and Riku before waving them on and nodding his head.

"Sure, Twilight, what's up?" he asked while Riku and Kairi left together. Twilight led him to the reading room just off to the side and took a deep breath. What she was going to ask wasn't something that she fully wanted to, but there weren't really a whole lot of options available to her concerning the issue. It would probably be hard enough work for his friends as it was in case Heartless appeared on their journey; she took the liberty of assuming that unfortunate likelihood was somewhere between the range of "one hundred percent likely" and "you're darn right Heartless are going to attack us".

"Sora, Rarity asked me to look after Sweetie Belle while she extended her stay in Canterlot to help Princess Luna on whatever it is that they're working on. With their parents on vacation, there's nopony else who can look after her on such short notice, so…I've decided that I want to take her with us."

The pegasus across from her looked like he immediately wanted to bark out, 'NO' as vehemently as he could, but stopped himself. A thoughtful look came onto his face and he gazed up at the roof. "Hmm…" he mumbled while pawing at his chin. He abruptly took to the air and hovered in place, though now his vision appeared to be focused on a spot just behind Twilight's horn.

"You know, that might not be a terrible idea," he said. There was just the ghost of a smile on his face, and Twilight looked at him in surprise.

"You really think so?" she said. "I know that it's absurd, bringing a foal with us on a perilous quest and everything. I thought for sure as an experienced fighter that you'd be completely against it."

"I am against it," he agreed, stunning her. "But I'm also for it." Twilight's answering voice was flat.

"You're going to have to explain that one."

"Well, I am against it because it _is_ one more pony we'd have to make sure stayed safe, which means that we have to keep our eyes on her too instead of just the Heartless in front of us, so that sucks. But on the other hand…hoof…it'd probably be good for Rei to have another kid her age around with her for a while. Everyone else we've been with since we left Destiny Islands has been either an older teenager or an adult, and it'd be nice if she had a friend her own age for a bit."

"So this means that you're okay with Sweetie Belle tagging along?" Twilight asked. It was always best to be sure in these sorts of circumstances.

"Yeah," he answered brightly. "I'm cool with it. If that's all…?"

Twilight nodded gratefully. "Yes, it is. Thanks for understanding, Sora."

"No problem. TTFN."

"TTFN?" Twilight asked, tilting her head. "What's that mean?" Sora stopped, and looked at her. He grinned.

"TTFN! Tah-tah for now! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Twilight gawped as Sora then bounced out of the library. She shook her head and quickly levitated a book she needed in order to triple-check something.

"That pony's as crazy as Pinkie Pie sometimes..."

-G-M-

An hour later, the eleven ponies and baby dragon had all assembled again. Saddlebags were double and triple-checked to ensure that they had all the possible supplies that they might need for the few days' hike it would be, Twilight gave them all a pep talk for the third time, Sweetie Belle was reminded for the _fifth_ time that if anything dangerous showed up she was to get herself to safety and hide, and Fluttershy and Spike each got one last hug from Angel Bunny and Peewee, respectively, before leaving them behind with the enthusiastically waving Derpy Hooves and The Doctor; both ponies had agreed to look after the critters while they were away.

They set off to the west at a comfortably brisk pace. Ponyville fell behind as the majority of them stayed on their hooves, while Sora, Kairi, and Rainbow Dash hovered above the rest with their wings. The two new pegasi were really enjoying flight, so much so that Sora took off into the sky, did a loop thirty metres above them, and make a wide corkscrew on his moderate dive back down to their level…and then threw in an aileron roll for fun while Rainbow Dash performed a loop with him in the middle.

The land around them quickly changed, leaving behind the scattered buildings and farmland of the area surrounding Ponyville and exchanging it for the lightly forested paths of the eaves of the Whitetail Woods within a short hour. Before long the trees were all around them, and sunlight filtered in through the gaps in the canopy and shafts of gold streamed down in the larger breaks. Butterflies could be seen fluttering in the sunlight and a bee was buzzing near the blooms of a bush filled with small white flowers. Wind gently rustled the leaves, and the sounds of their flapping wings and the audible _clip-clop_ of their hooves gave everything a sense of gentleness.

"The Running of the Leaves should be happenin' soon," Applejack noted, looking up at the crown of a giant poplar tree. "Leaves look like they'll be changing colours right quick."

"Running of the Leaves?"

Riku turned his head and looked back at the farmpony from his point position just in front of Twilight.

"Well sure," Applejack said. "When the summer starts givin' way to fall, and all the leaves on all the trees in Equestria change, that's when we all run a race and shake 'em off."

"The autumn leaves of Equestria need to be shaken loose or they'd never fall," Twilight said when Riku still gave her a bewildered look. "Ponyville and the smaller villages close-by handle the trees in the Equus Valley and the eastern half of the Whitetail Woods. Naturally, with the need to have so many ponies running and shaking the ground with their hooves for it to work, the 'Running of the Leaves' became a Ponyville tradition."

"So it's a—"

"—big race through the Whitetail Woods to shake down the leaves and having fun while we're at it!" Rainbow Dash interrupted excitedly, zooming down and almost catching Riku by surprise. She looked back at Applejack. "It'd be nice to run in it again."

"No cheatin' this time, Rainbow," Applejack laughed. Rainbow Dash proceeded to perform a bunch of motions while saying, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Riku watched them for a moment while still plodding onward. "Huh," he muttered, thinking about the saying that he was used to. "So is that sort of like a promise?"

"It's a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie told him with an exuberant bounce. "She can't break a Pinkie Promise." Her eyes suddenly became the most intense, terrifying things that any of them had ever seen. "_Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise_."

Riku stood stock-still and didn't move a muscle at the sound in Pinkie's voice. A more accurate description would have been that he _couldn't _move a muscle. It wasn't until after she had started merrily bouncing along and humming to herself that he was able to move freely again.

"…Okay, that creeped me right out…."

He finished his mumbling and increased his pace to regain his place in the van with Twilight. She was levitating the map in front of her and craning her neck to spot the sun's position through the leafy canopy above them. She was muttering quietly to herself, but he was still able to pick up enough of her words to understand her.

"…keep this…and…(c)ourse…should…right on schedule."

"So we're going the right way, then?" he asked. Twilight nodded her head without looking at him and turned her head forward. A confident gleam was in her eyes. Riku nodded as well and kept pace.

For the most part, their walk passed in quiet. There were scattered conversations here and there in hushed voices, and their pegasi had returned to the ground to avoid smacking into low branches from the trees or flying above their lofty crowns and losing sight of the group. The sun continued to climb in the sky while it made its way west, and birdsong accompanied the clopping of their hooves along the dirt and grass.

However, at one point, Fluttershy cast her eyes around and spread panic to most of the members of their company with just a quiet question. "Um…where's Kairi?"

"Uwa!" gasped Applejack, frantically turning around in a circle and looking everywhere. "I—I dunno! She was right beside me a minute ago."

"Trixie did not see her leave, either," added the blue unicorn with an anxious glance.

"We'll split up," Twilight said quickly. "Applejack, you and Rainbow Dash head back the way we came for a couple minutes, then, if you don't find her, come right back. Trixie and Fluttershy will go that way, and Pinkie Pie and I will go this way. Sora, Riku, Rei, and Sweetie Belle can stay here to wait for us in case she wanders back."

Riku just smirked and continued following their heading, overtaking Twilight with a quick trot. "Don't worry about Kairi," he said. "She's around."

"Uh-huh," Rei agreed with a nod of her head, continuing as well with a smile creeping into her expression. "She'll be back at lunchtime, right onii-chan?" Sora nodded his head and kept pace too. The Equestrian ponies stared at them for a moment.

"Okey-dokey-lokie!" Pinkie Pie agreed, smiling suddenly and following the three. "La-la-laaa…"

"…What just happened?" Applejack asked, glancing around at the others.

"Shouldn't we still look for her?" Sweetie Belle wondered. She sent her gaze deep into the forest surrounding them. "I know I wouldn't want to be out there all by myself."

"Kairi's a big girl, she can take care of herself," Sora assured them all with a backwards smile from over his shoulder. "Now come on, let's get going." Slowly, the other ponies started to follow.

-G-M-

A few hours later they came across a small meadow in the woods. The sun had just passed its zenith by this point, so Twilight called it time for them to break for lunch. True to their word, Kairi flew down from over the treetops behind them and landed gracefully in the middle of the company, and glibly answered their questions about her whereabouts.

The meadow wasn't really much bigger than a small mostly-circular clearing in the brush around twenty-two metres in diameter, but it suited their needs just fine. The sun was high, the birds were singing, the grass was a vibrant green, there had been absolutely zero signs of trouble, bunnies were grazing, and they had delicious carrots, apples, cupcakes, cookies, leafy sandwiches, and Applejack's divinely scrumptious apple fritters to munch on.

"Oh, hey," Rainbow Dash spoke up while Sora was taking a swig of water from his canteen, "I almost forgot..." she started rummaging in her saddlebags and quickly pulled out what looked like a magazine. "You guys made the front page of the _Daily Bugle_."

Sora's water suddenly decided that his mouth was not a very good place to settle down in, and decided to take a one-way rocket trip to watering the grass instead. "We made the front page of the _what_!?" Sora yelped.

"Well...more like Riku did," Rainbow Dash added. She tossed the paper forward. "Here, take a look."

Sure enough, on the cover right beneath the tabloid's name _THE DAILY BUGLE_ there was a picture of Riku blasting a Soldier Heartless with a ball of dark fire from his horn. The header read, _**NEW HORN IN CANTERLOT! 'BLAZING HORN', FRIEND OR FOE OF MENACE SPIDER-COLT?**_

"...who publishes this paper?" Riku asked, deadpan. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"J.J.J." she answered. "He's Filthy Rich's brother. His real name is Jaunty Jet Jewel, and is the editor and publisher of that paper."

"So that means that he's Diamond Tiara's uncle?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Well, this makes everything make a lot more sense with how she ran the _Foal Free Press_."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi shared a look. "Can I? Please?" Sora asked Kairi. She made a very long sigh in answer.

"Go ahead."

"Parker in my office!" Sora suddenly barked out with a Manehatten accent. " I want photos! Photos of Spider-Colt!"

"Spider-Colt?" Riku retorted, sporting the same accent. "He's old news! A hack! A train wreck! He couldn't sell papers if he went out in his suit and gave them away for free. I want you to get me pictures of this 'Blazing Horn' beating the stuffing out of Spider-Colt."

"And then I'll send him a medal for getting rid of that web-spinning menace!"

"A medal? Ha! I'll get Princess Celestia to give him the key to the city!"

"Miss Brant! Get me Princess Celestia on the phone! I need her to get down here pronto so we can give the key to the city to Blazing Horn for beating Spider-Colt soon as Parker gets back with the pictures!"

"Um, could I get an advance?" Kairi asked timidly. Sora and Riku stared at her for a second before both of them burst out laughing. Kairi could only hold onto her composure for a second herself, and then she broke down and fell to the ground, laughing uncontrollably.

"Trixie is concerned," Trixie said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay? Don't tell me you've gone crazy."

"Hey, crazies are good ponies too," Pinkie piped up.

Sora tried to withhold a snort and looked up at Trixie. "Are you serious?"

The trio dissolved into a second round of laughter.

Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. "Okay, that's enough. What's this all about? Because if you guys keep laughing for no reason it's going to spread."

Riku weakly shoved himself to his hooves, his laughs subsiding slowly while Sora and Kairi remained firmly on the ground. "O-okay, it's like this. See, there's this graphic novel that's pretty popular back home, and one of the characters is named 'J. Jonah Jameson' and he runs a newspaper called the _Daily Bugle_, and runs a slander campaign against...well against Spider-Colt the entire time."

Pinkie gasped. "You guys too?"

"Of course us too!" Sora snapped, still with the bad accent. "Spider-Colt is a masked menace to the populace! He didn't stop at just Canterlot, he's terrorizing the entire world!"

"I'll give you a hundred and fifty munny to stop making J.J. jokes," Riku said.

"Make it three hundred," Sora countered.

"That's outrageous! Done." Kairi still remained weak in the knees on the ground, but Sora and Riku had both gotten a hold of themselves enough for Riku to hoof over a large assortment of yellow-coloured beads to Sora from out of a pouch from his saddlebags.

"...so, uh, how did you enjoy your lunch, Rei?" Applejack asked, likely hoping to alleviate the awkwardness the Equestrian ponies felt at the antics of the filly's brother and his friends. Rei gave the farmer a hopeful expression after a glance at Sora.

"Can I have another apple fritter?" she whispered. Applejack smiled proudly.

"Why of course ya can sugarcube," she replied in a hushed voice. Applejack carefully extracted another apple fritter from her saddlebag, put it on a plate, lightly grasped the plate between her teeth, and transferred it to the filly with speed and practiced ease. Rei gobbled it up in two bites, and all she had to show for it afterwards was a muzzle dripping a little apple filling with crumbs and a pleased smile as wide as Rarity's drama couch.

-G-M-

The creature sighed pleasantly as it looked at the closed doors. It was certain that within the room beyond them was a stallion working himself into a tizzy due to some project or another, and that the unicorn would have run himself completely ragged in the week of her absence.

Knowing that the inevitable likely could not be delayed any longer, the creature raised one small clawed hand covered in copper scales and knocked three times, then twice more, before opening the doors and entering the office. Just as she thought, Coltinster was surrounded by so many books it would have been impossible to see that he was there if the golden nimbus surrounding his horn didn't provide the light that gave him away. She could hear the sounds of his excited murmurs and the scratching of the quill being kept aloft in his horn's glow.

"I'm back," the young dragoness declared, and shut the door behind her. No new noises greeted her salutation, only the scratching of a quill and the flipping of pages rushed to meet her. Sighing again and shaking her head with a good-humoured smile on her face, she walked through the room on her hind legs until she was on the opposite side of the desk. "Coltinster, I'm back. Aren't you going to ask how it went?"

Still no response.

The dragoness eyed him sceptically for a few seconds, not sure whether or not she should believe how into his work he appeared to be, and then decided on the ultimate test. Grinning like the malevolent little imp she could be at times, she tiptoed past the stallion towards the large chest of drawers-that was twice Coltinster's height-that he kept at the back of the room. She glanced around and spotted just what she needed.

A minute later the small female dragon wyrmling was standing precariously on a pair of downy pillows that perched on a stack of four books, which, in turn, were sitting on the highest step of a stepladder. She reached a clawed hand out while being mindful of her balance. _Almost there...almost...just a little more..._

"Touch my chocolate without permission and you're a newt for a week, Irithera."

"Yiahhh!"

She landed with a thump and a clatter as the sudden sound of the Headpony's voice cost her her balance and her shot at the jar of dark milk chocolate Coltinster always kept out of her reach. A pillow landed on her head, with one of the books dropping onto the pillow before bouncing to the floor just beside. Groaning just a little in disappointment more than actual pain, the young dragoness stared forlornly at the jar of chocolates, tail swishing back and forth agitatedly.

_Drat. And I was soooo close this time too..._

Coltinster's hooves on the floor alerted her to his approach, and he chuckled faintly when his head appeared above her. "Irithera Brightflame, just what am I going to do with ye?" Irithera rose to her feet and looked down at them, feeling just a small amount of admonishment in the old pony's voice. She shuffled her feet while Coltinster turned away, hiding a smile. A piece of chocolate surrounded in golden light floated down in front of her nose, and the copper dragoness beamed in surprise before snatching it in her claws.

"Thank you!" she told him with the sincere earnestness only a child could produce. Coltinster's answering laugh was barely audible.

"Make sure that ye clean up the mess ye made," Coltinster said. He returned to his writing. "So, how fares our fine furred friend in Drakken? He hasn't been eaten, I hope?"

"Nope," Irithera replied brightly, munching on the chocolate while putting her impromptu chocolate-jar-reaching device away. "He's as fine as he always is. I think that he has to have dragon blood in him or the nerves of the Princess to live around such big, huge dragons all the time."

Coltinster nodded his head and made a noise in his throat. Irithera finished putting away the pillows on Coltinster's napping couch and the books into the bookshelf before looking at the old unicorn again. He was back to writing down whatever it was he was writing, the Headpony also holding up a book with his magic, and glancing at it from time to time.

_What is he writing in that? _wondered Irithera. Casually padding her way over to him, the dragoness clamboured onto his back and peered over his shoulder, inquisitiveness evident in her pointed face. Her tail waved back and forth, her ruddy brown scales faintly glinting in the light.

"That's Aragrakh," she pointed out, recognizing the pattern of the runes his quill was making on the page. He nodded.

"Very astute."

"Why are you writing in draconic?"

"This is to be a going-away present for Twilight Sparkle," he replied. "Tell me, Irithera, what is written using draconic notation?" She peered at the page for a second or two, reading it, and then her expression revealed sudden clarity.

"Spellbooks," she answered. "Are you copying your super-secret spells to give to her?"

"Only a few of them," Coltinster relented. "I certainly wish for her to be prepared for what she may encounter on her journey, but by no means am I entrusting her with _all_ of my spells."

"So which ones are you going to give her?" asked Irithera. "Are you going to teach her how to scry on ponies, or stop time, or turn into a raven?"

"Nay, I shall not be teaching her anything. Twilight Sparkle is the Princess' own pupil and the Element of Magic, remember? She will not need my instruction even if these spells are far more complex than what she has currently performed. From what I understand she has been able to teleport for over a year now and has since been able to create a moderately powerful _Wall of Force._ She will undoubtedly find these spells a challenge, but if I know her she will rise to the challenge."

Irithera nodded a couple of times, letting the silence sink in for a bit before opening her mouth again. "How do you tell if a foal has raided your pantry?"

Coltinster grinned slightly. "How?"

"Only the bottom shelves are empty. How do you tell if a dragon has raided your pantry?"

"How?"

"Only the gems are missing. How do you tell if a parasprite has raided your pantry?"

"How?"

"Pantry? What pantry?"

-G-M-

"I've got it!" Sora exclaimed suddenly.

"Got what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I've figured out a working Spider-Colt song," he declared enthusiastically.

"A song for Spider-Colt?" Pinkie gasped. "Let me hear it! I want to hear it!"

"I swear, if it's a remake of Spider-Pig or just finding one rhyme for 'colt' I'm going to cut you," Riku jokingly threatened. Sora mockingly laughed at him.

"_Spider-Colt, Spider-Colt,  
__He's so cool you won't revolt.  
__Spins a web, any size;  
__Catches thieves, just like flies. Look out!  
__Here comes the Spider-Colt._

_Is he strong? Listen bud,  
__He's got radioactive blood.  
__He can climb any wall,  
__And on the ceiling he'll have a ball. Hey babe!  
__There goes the Spider-Colt._

_In the chill of night,  
__At the scene of a crime.  
__Like a streak of light,  
__He arrives just in time.__  
_

_Spider-Colt, Spider-Colt,  
__Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Colt.  
__Wealth and fame he's ignored;  
__Action is his reward. To him,  
__Life is a great big bang-up;  
__Wherever there's a hang-up,  
__You'll find the Spider-Colt!"_

There was silence in the woods for a few seconds, and then Pinkie Pie rushed Sora and tackled him to the ground.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" She told him, eyes bulging out of their sockets with every word. "You've got to teach it to me! Did you just make that up?"

"Sora, you win two points in the game of life," Kairi said.

"But you lose two for stealing my catchphrase," Rainbow Dash told him. Sora blinked.

"Your catchphrase?"

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest with pride. "Never fear, your friendly neighbourhood Rainbow Dash is here!"

"That's nothing," Riku told her. "Your phrases have nothing on Green Lantern." Sora and Kairi groaned.

"Riku, we don't _care_ about the Green Lantern Corps. or the Justice League!" Kairi exclaimed.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. May all who worship evil's might beware my power, Green Lantern's light!" chanted the blue unicorn.

"What was that?" Twilight asked, impressed.

"The oath that Hal Jordan took when he became a Green Lantern," Riku answered.

He then proceeded to spend the next three hours until they stopped for the evening telling Twilight about Green Lantern, and she listened eagerly to every word.

Okay, that's a lie. _Spike_ listened eagerly to every word. Twilight got a little bored of the conversation after roughly an hour. Most of the rest of the party attempted to tune out Riku with varying degrees of success; Rainbow Dash and Applejack both joined in on the conversation after a while, Trixie and Sora both worked with Rei and Sweetie Belle on levitation while they walked (Rei showed moderate improvement while Sweetie Belle struggled to get a stick a centimetre off the ground but she would later tell anypony listening that she did get it to levitate, honest!), Fluttershy tried to stop listening and paid attention to the flora and any fauna she could set her eyes on, Kairi vanished again, and Pinkie bounded along, humming a merry tune to herself.

Their evening resting place put them beside a stream cutting through the woods. Twilight and Applejack quickly set about putting the others to use ordering their campsite.

"Hey, Sora," Kairi said as she flew back down from wherever she had been, "can I talk to you for a second?" The other pegasus looked at her and nodded his head.

"Where are those two going?" Rainbow Dash asked, setting some logs out for the group to sit on.

"It looks like they're going on a walk to me," Fluttershy said. Applejack looked up as she and Sweetie Belle placed stones around in a circle for their fire pit.

"What in tarnation do they think they're doing?" she asked. "There's still work that needs doing!"

"Leave them be," Riku advised. He slowly turned his head back and forth, aquamarine eyes sweeping the area underneath his silver mane. "Those two are probably just taking some 'alone' time."

"Oh, do you think I might be able to observe them?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "I promise I won't get in the way." Riku ceased his guardian watch for a moment to give her a startled expression. Rei was the one who spoke up instead.

"Watch them?" she asked, frowning. "Why would you want to watch my brother and Kairi make kissy faces at each other?"

Fluttershy blushed and laughed nervously. It sounded incredibly forced. "Oh, it's nothing...just might be good research for my next novel..."

Riku's ears were sharper than she expected. "Novel?" he inquired. Fluttershy squeaked and avoided eye contact. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"'Shy here writes trashy romance novels to get her the bits for her bills since she won't even charge ponies for any services she gives their animal friends," Rainbow explained. "From what I hear, 'Lurid Quill' is actually quite a popular author."

"She is," Twilight agreed. "In fact, Fluttershy's novels typically become bestsellers and have the high-class mares in Canterlot and Manehatten lining up for hours each time a new one is released."

"Wow, I didn't know that you were that famous, Fluttershy," said Pinkie. "Hey, I know! You should hold a book signing party!"

"No! I could never do that," Fluttershy stammered. "All of those random ponies I don't know seeing who I really am and finding out I've never been in a serious relationship. I don't think I could handle the pressure of meeting with them and just disappointing my fans." She hung her head, subdued.

"Hmm...Should not somepony still go with them?" Trixie asked. "What if those black creatures, the Heartless, attack?"

"And you're worried about them?" Riku said dismissively. "Sora's the guy who saved the entire Realm of Light twice, even if he did need some help to do it, and he's not going to let anything happen to Kairi either. Relax, if Heartless do show, they'll be able to handle themselves just fine." He returned to giving the surrounding area a sweep with his eyes. Rainbow Dash kicked back on a log and broke out her Daring Do book, and Pinkie rolled in the grass.

-G-M-

"Alright, what did you see?"

Kairi lay down on the cloud the two pegasi had taken solitude on. "We're being followed."

"I'd be insulted if we weren't," Sora answered. "How many?"

"Four. Pete's skulking back over there-you can just make him out behind that tree right there. Lyra and I have been playing 'hide and seek' with each other all day. I know she's there and she knows I know but I haven't gone down to ask why she is following us."

"Curiosity?"

Kairi shook her head. "If she were just curious she would have left us in the first hour. She's also wearing some form of the Royal Guard armour, so my guess is escort guard or something, but why I still don't know."

Sora's brow creased in thought. "Who would she be guarding, though? The Elements of Harmony?"

"It could be Twilight Sparkle," Kairi guessed. "I mean, she _is_ the Princess's personal student. It would make sense for such an important person to have a personal guard, right?"

"But wouldn't Lyra publicly be known as that then if that was the case?" Sora reasoned. "Isn't it a better deterrent for there to be a guard that everybody knows about than a secret guard?"

"Hmm, you may be right on that..." Kairi acquiesced. Sora sighed.

"Well, Lyra's hanging around and let's say she's a secret service agent or something keeping tabs on them or us, then. The other two?" asked Sora. Kairi smiled.

"Two adorable little fillies who wouldn't know stealth if it stabbed them in the back. They're right over there, trying to just keep out of sight of our campsite." She pointed a hoof, and Sora followed it with his eyes. He could see orange and purple, and red and soft yellow.

"Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?"

"Yep," Kairi answered. She unfurled her wings. "Want to go say 'hi'?" Sora stretched forward for a moment, and Kairi enjoyed comparing him to a cat with how his limbs were positioned.

"Ahh... I don't get paid enough to babysit," he chuckled before spreading his wings. "Sure, let's go."

Kairi laughed. "Last I checked, nobody was paying us to save the galaxy." Sora grinned at her.

"Well maybe when we get back to the _Highwind_ we should negotiate some sort of contract with the king," he said.

"Can we also ask for a bigger ship?" Kairi asked. "I don't think the old girl's going to cut it with the number of people we're picking up."

Sora laughed mirthlessly. "Not gonna cut it, are you kidding? She's already too small for the people aboard her right now. If it was just me, Donald, Goofy, you, and Rei, maybe, but tossing in Twilight and Trixie with the others and this is just getting ridiculous." He nodded his head, and Kairi jumped from the cloud and slowly began to gracefully circle down to the treetops, Sora following after a moment.

For only having been ponies for a couple of days, the pair of pegasi landed very quietly a short distance away from where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were hiding behind a tree with several bushes growing close to its trunk, giving them a good degree of concealment from the riverside campsite.

"But Ah'm hungry Scootaloo. Ah told you we shoulda packed more food than just a lunch."

"No you didn't! And we can't go out there! They'll know we were following them and get mad at us."

"Ah did too say we should pack more!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Ah did too say so!" Apple Bloom declared with a definitive stomp of a forehoof.

Scootaloo looked away for a quick moment before returning Apple Bloom's gaze. "Yeah, well...if we go out there, how are we supposed to get our cutie marks as tracker ponies or spy ponies? Getting caught won't make them appear."

"Cutie mark or not, Scoots," Apple Bloom said quietly. "Aren't you startin' tah get hungry too?" Scootaloo held her defiant posture fora few seconds before remembering that it was a member of the Apple family she was dealing with, and her friend.

Scootaloo deflated and sighed. "Yeah...you were right. We should have packed more food."

"Well that's funny," Kairi spoke up suddenly and startling the two fillies so much they almost jumped out of their coats, "because we have plenty with us."

"K-K-Kairi!" exclaimed Scootaloo as the two other pegasi stepped out from behind trees close to where she and Apple Bloom were hiding. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Just stopping by to say 'hi' and invite you to supper," Kairi answered with a smile while trotting up to the two fillies. She stopper just a couple of feet away from them. "You did good, I'm impressed," she added with an encouraging smile. "No one else even knew you were here until just now when I told Sora."

"No one else?" Scootaloo asked.

"So how long have you known, Kairi?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Kairi has been following along behind us all day to keep track of anything or anyone that might be following us," Sora answered. He gave her a quick smile before looking at the two goals with amusement. "She's probably known you were here all day."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders shared a look before dropping their heads with resigned sighs. "Ah guess we aren't gettin' our cutie marks in stealth, then."

"Chin up," Kairi said with a laugh, pushing Apple Bloom's chin up with her wing. "Like I said, _I_ was the one actively checking for pursuit. None of these bozos noticed."

"I take offence to that!" Sora cried in mock hurt. Kairi quickly lowered her head towards the fillies.

"Watch and learn girls," she whispered, and gave them a conspirator's smile. Kairi giggled suddenly and pushed her head underneath Sora's neck.

"Aw, you still love me anyway," she insisted, batting her eyelashes. Sora looked uncomfortable for a moment before sighing and submitting to the dopey smile that had been threatening to crack his face into two pieces or it would cop him in the eye.

"How come I can never say 'no' to you?" Sora asked in exasperation. Kairi pulled away and trolled a laugh that made even the leaves of the trees laugh along with her.

"Because I have you wrapped around my hoof sashaying these bodacious hips of mine," Kairi answered, slowly walking past him and doing her very best to sashay like she said. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both snorted in laughter while Sora just stared.

"Did you seriously just say the word 'bodacious'?" Scootaloo asked. "When are you from? The neighties?" Kairi hummed a chuckle in her throat. No sooner had she finished than a different rumbling sounded through their ears: the rumbly tumblies of hungry fillies.

"Come on," Kairi urged softly. "Let's go and get you something to eat. If you go now we can get it over with quickly."

"Yer not sendin' us back to Ponyville are you?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We'll let Twilight and Applejack decide that, Apple Bloom," Sora told her. "But I don't think they'll be sending you on a whole second day's trek through the woods by yourselves."

"So…" Scootaloo began, the gears in her head visibly turning as she worked out Sora's intended words, "we can stay?"

"As far as I'm concerned it'd be for the best," Kairi admitted. "You've followed us this far; might as well finish it. Now go on, through the bush and get the lectures over with." Grimacing, the two fillies bowed their heads and reluctantly headed towards the campsite.

Sora and Kairi shared a look before Sora sighed. "Two more little girls to keep track of and safe. I'm going to regret this, I know it."

"Sora…" Kairi began.

"I don't like having to be the responsible one now," Sora continued. "Why can't we go back to the days where it was me, Donald, and Goofy searching for you and Riku and the King and saving the galaxy in the process, just playing it by ear?"

"Sora…"

"Now I'm dragging my little sis across the worlds on a dangerous quest because she's the only one who knows who these Guardians are, and we're supposed to find them all and train them so they'll be prepared for when the Horned King, or any other villain who finds out what they can do, comes after them. I know this is going to end badly. I've read enough fantasy novels to know that the bad guy's going to swoop in the moment we have all the MacGuffins in the same place and nab all of them while thanking us for doing all of his work for him."

"Sora…"

"How am I going to keep Rei safe, Kairi? How am I going to keep Zelda and Trixie and Twilight safe? For all we know, the Horned King's already beaten Maleficent, and I really don't like the look of that Syndrome guy. They could have all of the Heartless under their command just like the Organization did."

"Sora!"

"What?" he asked, sharply turning his head towards Kairi.

Kairi held his gaze and turned her whole body to face him directly. "This isn't you, Sora, calm down."

"Calm down?" Sora asked. "I am—" He was stopped by Kairi's hoof over his mouth.

"No, you're not. You're letting the responsibility get to you." Kairi removed her hoof and sidled up next to him. She wrapped a wing over his back. "If you like, I have a couple of words that you taught me that could help you out."

"Yeah?" Sora chuckled humourlessly. "And what are those?"

"Hakuna Matata."

Kairi smiled as she felt Sora begin to laugh just through how his chest was moving, and then it rumbled into her hearing. From beyond the bush they could hear the older ponies now finally catching sight of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's approach.

"What in tarnation are you two doin' here?"

"I came to keep Sweetie Belle and Rei company."

"An' Ah came to keep Scootaloo company."

"…"

"And we were also trying to get our cutie marks as tracker ponies."

Sora's laughter doubled as he no doubt imagined the look on Applejack's face, and Kairi couldn't help but join in on it. He glanced down at her as they shared in their laughter, and Sora waited until they'd calmed down before he moved in and surprised his girlfriend with a kiss on her cheek.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you," he said. Kairi hummed in response.

"I'm sure there's more than _one_ reason," she replied.

"You're right," he agreed. "Your mother bakes me cookies." Kairi stared at him with an open mouth, and Sora gave her a cheeky grin before breaking into a canter.

"Oh I'm going to get you for that one Sora Hoshisho!" Kairi cried as she chased him back to camp.

-G-M-

_So, how many of you who know me are now scared? If you don't know me, here's my track record on the other giant fic._

_Part 1: Chapter 12-nothing bad happens. Chapter 13-nothing bad happens. Chapter 14-bad stuff happens._

_Part 2: Chapter 12-bad stuff happens.__ Chapter 13-nothing bad happens. Chapter 14-nothing bad happens._

_Part 3: Chapter 12-bad stuff happens. Chapter 13-nothing bad happens. Chapter 14-nothing bad happens._

_And, oh look, nothing bad has happened in these last two chapters!_

_Special thanks once again to __Pissfer__ for his editing skills._

_**May the Grace of the Valar Protect You**_

_Shire Folk_


End file.
